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exceed 132 trillion gallons all over Egypt and they are mostly nonrenewable aquifers. A lot
of areas in Egypt suffer from the deterioration of groundwater, he said.
Awad added that the ministrys statement about the massive groundwater discovery is not
scientifically proven.
This was a technical discovery, and there was no need to [raise] the issue at the level of the
public opinion, especially since this does not help Egypt in its negotiations with Ethiopia
regarding [Egypt's] share of the Renaissance Dam from the Nile, he added.
Nader Noureddine, a professor of water resources and irrigation in Cairo University's
agriculture faculty, told Al-Monitor that the water minister wanted to shift public attention
from his failed Renaissance Dam negotiations and distract it with hopes of new water sources
in Egypt.
The ministrys announcement came after Ethiopia refused to delay dam construction until
impact studies are completed and rejected Egypts proposal to increase the number of dam
gates to allow Egypts share of water to pass through.
Noureddine said, Addis Ababa [Ethiopia's capital] has actually started the experimental
storing of water behind the dam walls with more than 3 billion cubic meters [792 billion
gallons] so far, which was announced in the local media. It will start generating energy and
actual operation in June, while the Egyptian minister is still running from the truth in front of
the Egyptian public, [trying] to distract people by misleading them.
He added that statements made by the Ethiopian foreign minister clearly show Ethiopia will
not commit to changing its plans. He believes Ethiopia will not make any concessions to
Egypt, especially regarding its share of the Nile water. The plan to fill the dam is part of the
construction plan and is not related to any agreements with Egypt. This does not bode well
for Egypt, as Ethiopia will be using the Nile water based on its needs and not on the agreed
shares of water.
Noureddine also disputed the claims by some water ministry officials that a new drilling
device was procured, as the ministry does not own any excavation company. A Chinese
drilling company was in charge of excavation at the discovery site, and the companys official
was standing next to the minister during the fake announcement of the new underground
basin, according to Noureddine.