Nile River Dam: Sudan Exploits ‘Unilateral’ Movement As Ethiopia Dam Fills

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Sudan says the water levels in the Nile River have dropped as a reservoir has filled up behind Ethiopia’s Great Renaissance dam, hitting “any unilateral action taken by anywhere.”

Egypt has also demanded “rapid official clarification” from Ethiopia.

Both Sudan and Egypt are downstream, and they fear that the large dam will greatly reduce their access to water.

Ethiopia considers the hydroelectric project to be crucial for its economic growth and for improving electricity supply.

“If Ethiopia does not fill the dam, it means that Ethiopia has agreed to demolish the dam,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told Parliament earlier this month.

But state media have backed down after reports on Wednesday that suggested the dam was being deliberately filled, though not making it clear whether the dam’s gates had been closed.

Earlier this week, talks between the three nations over the $ 4 billion (£ 3.2 billion) Ethiopian Renaissance Great Dam (Gerd) ended without agreement, Ethiopian officials said, blaming “the demands unchanged and additional and excessive Egypt. “

A dialogue and a fair solution were needed, Sudan’s Information Minister Faisal Saleh said on Monday, quoted by Reuters.

Sudan said water levels are falling by 90 million cubic meters (lcm) per day, equivalent to some 36,000 Olympic-size pools, at the al-Deim water station, which borders Ethiopia.

Years of tense negotiations have failed to reach consensus on how and when to fill the reservoir, and how much water should be released.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry previously warned that filling and operating the dam without an agreement “that protects downstream communities … would increase tensions and could lead to crises and conflicts that would further destabilize an already troubled region ”

A conflict between Egypt and Ethiopia, both allies of the United States, would put millions of civilians at risk.

What did Ethiopia say?

On Wednesday, his water minister, Seleshi Bekele, confirmed satellite images showing the dam’s rising water levels, and state broadcaster EBC quoted him as saying it was “in line with the natural construction process of the dam. “

But hours later, EBC backed down, saying it apologized for “flawed” reports that incorrectly cited the water minister as saying that the dam filling process had begun.

“[Mr Bekele] He said that the negotiations over Gerd will continue in a way that ensures Ethiopia’s interests, “EBC clarified.

Satellite images taken between June 27 and July 12 show a steady increase in the amount of water retained by the dam.

Two unidentified Ethiopian officials who spoke to the AFP news agency have attributed this respectively to heavy rains that exceed the dam’s ability to push water down, and that it is a normal part of construction that has not stopped the flow. completely.

When fully operational, the dam will become the largest hydroelectric plant in Africa, providing power to some 65 million Ethiopians, who currently lack a regular electricity supply. However, Egypt gets almost all of its water from the Nile and fears the dam will reduce supplies.

How will the dam be filled?

Given the stage of construction, “there is nothing that can prevent the reservoir from filling to the lowest point of the dam,” said Dr. Kevin Wheeler, who has been following the Gerd project since BBC 2012.

The reservoir behind the dam will naturally fill during Ethiopia’s rainy season, which started in June and lasts until September.

Ethiopia had always said it would fill the dam in July, while Egypt warned that it be delayed as talks continued.

Since the start of the process in 2011, the dam has been built around the Blue Nile as it continued to flow through the huge construction site.

Builders could work on the vast structures on either side of the river without any problem. In between, during the dry season, the river was diverted through culverts, or pipes, to allow that section to be built.

The bottom of the center section is now complete and the river currently flows through bypass channels at the foot of the wall.

As the impact of the rainy season begins to be felt at the dam site, the amount of water that can pass through those channels will soon be less than the amount of water entering the area, meaning it will recede further and will increase lake that will sit behind the dam, said Dr. Wheeler.

Ethiopian authorities may close doors on some of the channels to increase the amount of water retained, but this may not be necessary, he added.

How long will it take to fill?

In the first year, the Gerd will retain 4.9 billion cubic meters (bcm) of water, bringing it to the height of the lowest point on the dam wall, allowing Ethiopia to test the first set of turbines. On average, the total annual flow of the Blue Nile is 49bcm.

In the dry season, the lake will recede a bit, allowing the dam wall to be built and in the second year another 13.5bcm will be retained.

By then, the water level should have reached the second set of turbines, which means that the water flow can be managed more deliberately.

Explore the Nile with 360 video

Join Alastair Leithead and his team, traveling in 2018 from the source of the Blue Nile to the sea, through Ethiopia and Sudan to Egypt.

Ethiopia says it will take five to seven years to fill the dam to its maximum flood season capacity of 74bcm. At that point, the lake to be created could stretch about 250 km (155 miles) upstream.

Between each subsequent flood season, the reservoir will decrease to 49.3bcm.

Egypt, which depends almost entirely on the Nile for its water needs, is concerned that a specific volume of water is not guaranteed in most years of filling.

And once the fill stage ends, Ethiopia is reluctant to be tied to a figure for how much water to release.

In normal or above-average rainy years, that shouldn’t be a problem, but Egypt is nervous about what could happen during a prolonged drought.

What’s going on with the conversations?

Negotiations on the mega-dam have failed to reach an agreement after almost a decade of talks between Egypt and Ethiopia, with Sudan caught in the middle.

Last year, Egypt sought US intervention at the dead end.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi requested that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, mediate the conflict, which Ethiopia was initially reluctant to accept.

The United States and the World Bank got involved, but failed to get Ethiopia to sign a document agreed with Egypt in February.

When the United States said the dam should not be completed without a deal, Ethiopia accused the superpower of overstepping its role as a neutral observer.

The African Union (AU) has now said it will try to find a solution.