Cairo University’s Professor of Geology and Water Resources, Abbas Sharaky, responded to government statements aiming to reduce per capita water consumption from 250 liters to 150 liters per day.
Sharaky wrote on his official Facebook page: “What is meant by rationalizing water consumption from 250 to 150 liters per day per person?”
“These recent statements have raised concerns among some about issuing decisions that limit current domestic uses for households,” he added.
Domestic consumption worldwide is negligible compared to agricultural and industrial uses, averaging 10 percent of total water use, he wrote, most of which is directed to agriculture, ranging from 50 percent in industrialized countries to more than 90 percent in developing countries, and 80 percent in Egypt.
“Egypt pumps approximately 11.1 billion m3 annually (by 2024) into drinking water networks from approximately 3,050 drinking water stations, at an average of 100 m3/person per year for a population of 110 million, with a daily consumption rate of 274 liters, and this is considered very high consumption compared to the global average, which ranges between 100 and 150 liters,” he explained.
Sharaky noted that there is a significant number of Egyptian villages consume water not from the national network, using groundwater through water pumps.
“The reality is that what reaches citizens may be less than 100 liters per day, with approximately 25 percent of this lost through leaking water pipes for various reasons, such as broken or worn-out networks. A further amount is used for construction, irrigation of small gardens, car washing, and household waste.”
“As part of its efforts to improve the efficiency of water use in the face of limited annual water quotas and increasing population growth, the state aims to increase citizens’ awareness of rationalizing consumption on farms, homes, and factories, improve the efficiency of the drinking water network and distribution system, and implement replacement and renewal plans to reduce losses, so that daily per capita consumption reaches 150 liters without affecting citizens’ actual consumption,” he concluded.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm