Introduction

Urban inequality has become a global central feature of the modern era (Desai, 2012). In Egypt, despite the relatively low Gini coefficient, inequality has been receiving increased attention since the events of 2011. Nowhere is inequality more evident than in the juxtaposition of Cairo’s luxury-gated communities against its large number of informal areas. The uneven nature of Egypt’s spatial development takes place as “social polarization becomes embedded in the spatial form of the city in the form of socioeconomic segregation” (Shatkin, 2007). This commentary looks at the manifestation of spatial inequality in Egypt by reflecting on the spatial distribution of drinking water. Providing drinking water to urban dwellers continues to be a problematic issue in the Global South as a whole. However, urban water scarcity in Egypt has been largely either undermined and rejected within the mainstream discourse, or blamed on inefficient and wasteful water consumption practices. Hence, there has been limited public discussion and analysis of the phenomenon of spatially localized urban water scarcity, and its juxtaposition against the abundance of contained water within Egypt’s luxurious gated communities and lavish neighborhoods.

Accordingly, this commentary aims to shed light on this juxtaposition, in order to highlight some of the more hidden forms of spatial water inequality in Cairo, specifically, and in Egypt, more generally. Moreover, it also highlights the need to understand the dynamics of urban water scarcity in their broadest form, which encompasses “multiple scarcities” (Ioris, 2012) that are often a manifestation of uneven development. Although the scarcity of water is certainly a physical phenomenon, it also results due to the intersection between poverty and inequality (Ioris, 2012). Consequently, analyzing water access in developing cities must take into consideration the different dimensions of water needs and consumption, especially with its heterogeneous and fluctuating spatial and temporal manifestations (Molle & Mollinga, 2003). It is important to note, however, that the scope of this commentary does not allow for a full-fledged analysis of water access, especially in light of the difficulties in accessing the data in Egypt that would be needed for such an analysis.

Drinking Water in Egypt: A Brief Background

When discussing the topic of water management in Egypt, one immediately stumbles upon the fact that Egypt is suffering from water scarcity. It has fallen below the United Nations’ threshold of water poverty (1000 cubic meters/capita) and is currently at a per capita share of total water volume of 700 cubic meters. Consequently, the UN predicts that Egypt will face a water crisis by 2025 (Cunningham, 2012).

For its water, Egypt relies primarily on: 1) the Nile River for freshwater (covering 95% of the annual freshwater budget), 2) the Delta, Western Deserts and Sinai for deep groundwater and, 3) rainfall and flash floods (FAO, 2016). Egypt’s freshwater poverty, as well as the high cost of alternative approaches to obtaining freshwater (such as desalination), highlights demand management by potable water consumers as a vital necessity. However, this neglects the fact that domestic consumption only makes up less than 20% of overall freshwater consumption (Cunningham, 2012). Moreover, the focus on demand management by domestic consumers hides the political complexities of water distribution by emphasizing the ‘natural’ and ‘technical’ aspects while neglecting the socioeconomic dimensions of water access. The fact is that demand management is already implemented in a very uneven way. While the country’s elite communities have access to lush golf courses with large water fountains, swimming pools, and unlimited access to 24-hour clean water, poorer areas are often provided with water for only a few hours per day, sometimes even outside their homes (Shawkat, 2012).

Access to Drinking Water across Egypt

There are several ways by which one can measure access to drinking water, two of which will be showcased in this section. The first is by looking at the numbers of people who have water taps inside their homes compared with those who do not, and are, thus, forced to leave their homes to obtain water. The second is by comparing shares of produced water at the per capita level across different areas.

According to the 2016/2017 National Census, 93% of Egyptians access potable water through a tap inside their home. This is, of course, a large percentage and an achievement to be proud of; however, the remaining 7% amount to over 6 million individuals, who must leave their homes to obtain potable water (CAPMAS, 2017). The below table presents the numbers of people without a tap inside their homes from different governorates across Egypt.

Governorates of Egypt	Number of household swithout tap (descending order) (CAPMAS, 2017)
Sharqeya	745,617
Giza	722,012
Minia	495,766
Beheira	449,394
Sohag	429,602
Qena	388,622
Gharbeya	374,705
Al Gharbya	363,789
Qalyubeya	309,621
Assiut	281,298
North Sinai	216,991
Bani Sueif	193,398
Dakahliya	170,770
Matrouh	168,675
Cairo	140,003
Kafr El Shiekh	137,684
Fayoum	124,125
Luxor	114,784
The Red Sea	85,064
Aswan	82,561
Ismailia	60,818
Alexandria	48,256
Port-Said	41,472
South Sinai	36,770
Damietta	15,242
New Valley	8,004
Suez	2,782
Total	6,207,825

Table 1

Comparing Cairo’s share of potable water to that of Egypt’s other governorates, it is evident that Cairo had the second highest per capita share of water in 2010/2011.

Figure 1: Per capita shares of produced water across governorates. Source: EWRA, 2011

While Cairo and Alexandria have per capita shares of 599 litre/person/day (l/p/d) and 591 l/p/d respectively, poorer governorates in Upper Egypt have much lower shares, such as Al-Minia with 109 l/p/d. This means that on average, each resident of Cairo enjoys over five times the amount of water that each resident of Al-Minia receives, on a daily basis.

Furthermore, contrasting the per capita share of water in Cairo with the shares of the new cities illustrates even higher spatial inequality. The table below shows per capita shares of Cairo and the adjacent new cities as per the data provided on the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) website regarding population sizes and shares of drinking water for the new cities.

Area	Data on share of water	Per capita share (l/p/d)
Cairo	Based on EWRA data, Cairo’s share is 599 l/p/d.	599
Sheikh Zayed	Based on the NUCA website, the city is fed by one water plant that produces 575,000 cubic meters, and its current population is 330,000, while its target is 675,000.	Based on current population: 1742 Based on target population: 851
New Cairo	Based on the NUCA website, the city is fed by 3 different plants with the capacities of 530,000, 30,000, and 40,000 respectively. A 4th plant is under construction to increase the city’s share by 2 million. Its current population is 1.5 million, and its target is 4 million people.	Based on current population: 1733 Based on target population: 650

Table 2: Per capita share of water in Cairo and two new cities

Spatial Inequality as a Legal Mandate

The difference between the shares of the new cities and that of Cairo may not be so startling, but if Sheikh Zayed’s water share is compared to that of Al-Minia, for example, it becomes apparent that the former’s current share of water is almost 16 times that of the latter.

Part of the reason for such diverging shares of produced water is that Egypt’s water code – an official manual establishing the technical standards for the planning and implementation of potable water and wastewater infrastructure – legally mandates such water discrimination. The code outlines standard per capita consumption levels for the different spatial categories across the country. It was published in 1998 by the Housing and Building Research Center, affiliated with the Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities. Accordingly, it sets the standard per capita consumption level (without calculating water losses) in new cities at 300 l/p/d, while the per capita consumption for the capital cities of Egypt’s urban governorates is set at 220 l/p/d. Furthermore, the marakiz (capital centers of rural governorates) are given a standard per capita consumption of 180 l/p/d, while rural villages (populations under 50,000) are set to a standard of 150 l/p/d. This demonstrates that the spatially uneven distribution of water is embedded within Egypt’s regulatory framework.

Egypt’s new cities have been receiving a large share of potable water for the past several decades, as a way to attract residents to move out from existing overpopulated urban agglomerations and inhabit the desert. Currently, there are 28 new urban communities across Egypt (without including the new administrative capital) – eight of which are adjacent to the GCR. According to a report titled “Cairo Future Vision 2027,” (GOPP and JICA, 2008), the water needs for these eight GCR-adjacent NUCs is predicted to amount to 1.2 million cubic meters per day by 2027, constituting 20% of the GCR’s total domestic use.

Proponents of the new cities tend to argue that they are simply attracting already existing populations from other cities; thus, they are not creating new demand for water, but rather merely redistributing existing demand. However, this is not entirely true. Egypt’s new cities, particularly those around the GCR, are not simply residential neighbourhoods; instead, they host upscale gated communities, parks, water fountains, shopping malls, artificial lakes, swimming pools, and several entertainment services. For example, Al-Sheikh Zayed city hosts five ‘entertainment hubs’ (malls, restaurant complexes, etc.) (NUCA, n.d.) that create new demand for water. Moreover, this water is not simply transmitted to the new cities through existing infrastructure; consequently , new water pipes and stations are required to be built and installed.

Supporting this argument, the below table indicates the amount of money being spent on water in the eight NUCs around the GCR in 2017/2018 (NUCA, 2018).

New City	Amount (thousand EGP)
New Cairo	637,059
Al-Shuruq	16
Badr	243
Al-Ubour	6,825
15th of May	7,975
10th of Ramadan	867,345
6th of October	288,417
Al-Sheikh Zayed	19,262

Water Scarcity in Cairo’s Informal Areas

Despite this apparent abundance of water in some of the new cities, recent data shows that certain forms of urban water scarcity (adopting a broad definition of the term “scarcity” as discussed in the introduction) still exist. This scarcity exists even within Egypt’s capital, which has one of the highest per capita shares of water in Egypt.

A report produced in 2013 by the Cairo Governorate presents the outcomes of a study of water infrastructure within Cairo’s informal areas. The report, titled “Strategy for the Provision of Water and Wastewater Services in Informal Areas,” classifies informal areas according to the level of access they have. The report finds 3 areas in which there is no water service, 10 areas with a service line through the area but no formal network, 14 areas with water service only at the border, and 14 areas with network service.

No water service	Service line through the area but no formal network	Service only at the border	With network service
Ein El-Seera Markaz El-Shabab Mantiqat Al-Qabr	El-Nahda Wadi Faroun El-Narsh Hadabet El-Hirafeyeen 2 El-Khazzan El-Sad El Aly El-Zayaeb Masakin Arab El-Hesn El-Ezab Ezbet Abu Qarn	Tal El-Aqareb El-Mawardy Abu El-Suoud Batn El-Baqara Gabal El-Muqatam Ard El-Simad Hadabet El-Hirafeyeen 1 Ezbet El-Ward Ezbet El-Arab Aala El-Gabal Suq El-Gomaa Ramlet Bulaq Kabish Arcadia	Ezbet Abu Hashish Ezbet El-Haggana Istabl Antar Ein El-Khayyala El-Madabigh El-Sad El-Aaly El-Assara Abu Regeila Dayer El-Nahya Ezbet Wahba Ezbet El-Arab Hikr El-Sakakeeny old and Hikr El-Sakakeeny new

This data is particularly interesting in light of data from the 2017 national census showing that almost 100% of Cairo’s population is connected to the public water network.

In addition to the above-described forms of difficulties in accessing water, qualitative fieldwork that I was previously involved in within five informal areas in Cairo and Giza highlighted several issues related to access even when a physical network exists in the area. Informal areas often suffer from deteriorated infrastructure, pipes that were incorrectly installed, and low quality of network maintenance. When a pipe bursts and the water is cut off from the area, many of the residents I spoke with claim they must wait several days before the water company fixes the problem and the water returns. This can be contrasted with more upscale areas, where my fieldwork with residents has indicated that they often have to wait only a few hours.

Conclusion

The above data gives us two primary insights: firstly, that there exists spatial inequality in the distribution of drinking water in Egypt and in Cairo, more specifically; and secondly, that although certain types of data may show there is universal access to water, there is a need for more nuanced data, both quantitative and qualitative, that can shed light on hidden forms of deprivation.

Understanding the spatial manifestation of water scarcity in Egypt is particularly important because the two dominant forms of urbanization currently taking place are informal urbanization in informal areas and desert urbanization in the new cities. While informal areas have been suffering dilapidated housing and deteriorated infrastructure, the new desert cities are littered with upscale gated communities that have new infrastructure and water-consuming facilities. These two contrasting forms of urbanization help us to understand the reasons behind the phenomenon of water scarcity in some areas as opposed to a contained abundance of water in other areas.

Given Egypt’s current water poverty and its predicted water crisis, especially in light of the construction of Egypt’s new capital, one can only ask: How many water stations will have to be built to serve the new capital, with all its promised entertainment hubs and facilities? Where will this money come from and how will it impact the finances desperately needed by other sectors in the country? Will the new cities continue to receive the lion-share of water resources (both natural and financial) while informal areas, as well as governorates like Al-Minia continue to be disadvantaged in the amount of water they receive?

Moving forward, the hidden spatial inequalities embedded within Egypt’s water governance system and the way it distributes its water resources must be addressed to ensure that certain regions are not unjustly tasked with bearing the brunt of the impending water crisis.

References

Cairo Governorate and Ministry of Water and Wastewater Utilities. 2013. Strategy for the Provision of Water and Wastewater Services in Informal Areas. Cairo Governorate and GIZ.
CAPMAS. 2017. National Census. Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.
Cunningham, E. Could Egypt Run Out of Water by 2025? Public Radio International (PRI). Retrieved from https://www.pri.org/stories/2012-04-06/could-egypt-run-out-water-2025.
EWRA. 2011. Annual Report 2010/2011. Retrieved from http://www.ewra.gov.eg/fetchpage.aspx?page=Annual%20Report
FAO. 2016. Egypt: Geography, climate and population. AQUASTAT database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/countries_regions/EGY/.
GOPP and JICA. 2008. Cairo Future Vision 2027. General Organization for Physical Planning and Japanese International Cooperation Agency.
Ioris, A.A., 2012. The geography of multiple scarcities: Urban development and water problems in Lima, Peru. Geoforum, 43(3), pp.612-622.
Molle, F. and Mollinga, P., 2003. Water poverty indicators: conceptual problems and policy issues. Water policy, 5(5-6). pp.529-544.
NUCA. n.d. Madinat Al-Shaikh Zayed. Retrieved from http://www.newcities.gov.eg/english/New_Communities/Zayed/default.aspx
NUCA. 2018. Approved Plan for Construction of Infrastructure 2017/2018. Retrieved from http://www.newcities.gov.eg/about/%D8%AE%D8%B7%D8%A9%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%A6%D8%A9.aspx
Shawkat, Y., 2012. Impact of WB on Built Environment in Egypt. Bank Information Centre. Retrieved from http://www.bankimpactegypt.org/resources/world-bank-impact-on-built-environment-in-egypt-study/. Accessed on: 4 September 2016.

Read Also