Facts about the Nile

River Basin Countries:

Tanzania - Rwanda – Burundi – Congo – Kenya

Uganda – Eritria – Ethiopia – Sudan – Egypt

Location: Africa latitude 40S to 310N

River catchement area: 2,9 million Km2

River length: 6,695 Km

Total length of the river and its tributaries:

37,205 Km2
Total areas of the lakes: 80,900 Km2

Largest lake: Victoria 67,580 Km2 the second

largest fresh water lake in the world

 NILE RIVER BASIN
The Nile River gets its water from three catchments :

1- The Plateau of Equatorial lakes

2- Bahr EL Ghazal

3- Ethiopian high lands

 I- Equatorial lakes plateau

It is composed of :-

- Victoria and Kioga Lakes discharge into Victoria Nile

- George and Edward Lakes discharge into Semiliki

river connecting Edward Lake to Albert lake.

- Albert lake discharges into Albert Nile. Albert

Nile collects also rainfall run off and flows

down to Nimuli which is called thereafter Bahr

EL Jebel.
 II- Bahr EL Ghazal Catchment

It is located in the South west area of Sudan.

All water collected by Bahr El Ghazal

Catchment are is lost in the sudd area through

evaporation and evapotranspiration

The water from Bahr EL Gabal flows to the

white Nile through Lake No.

 III- Ethiopian High Lands Catchment

The source of water from Ethiopian high lands

discharge into the white Nile through three

rivers. These are :

1- The Sobat river. It originates from Ethiopia

through the two tributaries Baro and pipor .

Baro river crosses Machar Marshes

2- The Blue Nile. It gets its water from Lake

Tana, and several tributaries in Ethiopia and two
tributaries in Sudan
3- The Atbara river. It originates from Ethiopia

and Eritria through two tributaries.

It discharges into the main Nile North of

Khartoom
Hydraulic Structures along the river:

- Owen Dam on the outlet of lake Victoria

- Gabal EL Awliaa on the white Nile 40 Km

south of Khartoom

- EL Rousairus Dam on the blue Nile

- Sennar Dam on the Blue Nile

- Khashm EL Gerba Dam on Atbara river

- Aswan High Dam on the main Nile at Aswan

- Old Aswan Dam at Aswan

- Esna Barrage

- Naga Hammadi Barrage

- Assyout Barrage

- Delta Barrages

- Zefta Barrage on Dammietta Branch

- Faraskour Dam on Dammietta Branch

- Edfiena Barrage on Rosette Branch

 River Basins Management Problems and
issues ( Nile River Case )
- Soil erosion in the watershed area
* Factors affecting soil erosion
- Vegetation Cover
- Loose Soil
- Urbanization
- Slopes
* Problems

- Erosion of top fertile surface

- Decreased run off

- Damages of properties

- Increased sediment yield to rivers

- Sediment yield entering the rivers
Problems:-
* Deposition in the reservoirs leading to
reduced lifetime of the reservoir

* Deposition of sediment in the water way

affecting river regime, recreation, and
navigation

* Reduced water quality

- Effect of hydraulic Structures

* Negative Environmental impact

* Deposition of sediment and erosion of river

bed and banks

- Flood Control

* Forcasting

* Flood routing

* Water levels
- Pollution Control

* Legal and institutional frame work

* Monitoring

* Enforcement
- Water losses in the watershed area

* Evaporation and evapotion in swamps

* Other losses
- Data collection network
* Metrological and hydrological data
* Soil data
* Water levels and discharges
* water quality
* Others
 Evolution of corporation in the Nile Basin

A.Bilateral Cooperation

The following is a brief account of the Nile

Water Agreements in chronological order

governing the uses and the sharing of Nile

waters.
It is worth mentioning that only the Nile water

aspects will be stated.

1) Protocol between Britain and Italy in 1891

2) Treaty between Congo and Britain in 1894

3) Treaty between Britain and Ethiopia in 1902

4) Agreement between Britain and Congo un

1906 ( Modifying the Agreement of Brussels

signed in 1894 )
5) Agreement between Britain, Italy and
Ethiopia in 1906
6) Exchange of notes between Britain and Italy
in 1925
7) Nile water agreement in 1929
8) Convention between Britain and Belgium in
1934
9) Exchange of memoranda between Egypt and
Great Britain ( on behalf of Uganda ) in 1949-
1953
10) Egypt and the Sudan Nile Agreement in 1969
11) Exchange of memoranda between Egypt and
Uganda in 1991
12) Framework for General Cooperation
between Egypt and Ethiopia in 1993
13) Joint Communiqué Issue between Kenya and
Egypt in 1993
14) Agreement between Egypt and Uganda for
controlling water hyacinth in 1998
Regional cooperation through joint projects in
the Nile basin

1- The HYDROMET project

2- The TECCO NILE project

3- The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI)