Table 6.2 shows that the government’s optimistic plans to reduce water
loss and to make more intensive use of recycled drainage water have been
of little success. According to even more optimistic models of calculation, in
future 9 billion m3
 can be gained through hydrologic projects on the upper
Nile course, and a further 4.5 billion m3
 through the exploitation of ground-
water resources in desert areas. The example of the Jonglei Canal (see below),
through construction of which it was hoped to gain 10 billion m3
 of water
annually, shows that no high-flying hopes should be raised by such projects as
long as the civil war raging in the Upper Nile region of the Sudan is allowed
to continue. Plans to use the deep groundwater aquifers in desert areas can-
not be economically viable for agrarian production owing to the high energy
costs of extracting the water.
The following gives an outline of the overall situation concerning Egypt’s
water resources.