What Impact Will GERD’s Filling Have?

What Impact Will GERD’s Filling Have?

Since the project was launched in 2011, a controversial Ethiopian dam has been raising tensions as Egypt and Sudan fear for their share of the Nile’s water and the social and economic repercussions of Ethiopia’s actions.

The ramifications of Addis Ababa moving forward with the third filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has deeply unsettled Cairo and Khartoum, which has announced a state of “maximum alert.”

After Cairo received a letter from Ethiopia on July 26 that stated it would continue to fill GERD during this flood season- acting unilaterally and before having reached an agreement- it responded by filing a complaint with the UN Security Council on Friday.

GERD Project Manager, Kifle Horo, has himself admitted that the shares of Egypt and Sudan could be undermined by the filling in an official statement about two months ago.

According to experts, Addis Ababa will fill GERD with approximately five additional billion cubic meters of water, which reduces Egypt's water supply.

Professor of Geology and Water Resources at Cairo University Dr. Abbas Sharaki says that any water stored in the GERD, whether a large or small quantity, is Egyptian-Sudanese water.

If used in agriculture, this water would bring in one billion dollars for every billion