Geologist releases updates, speculations on disputed Ethiopian Dam's 3rd filling

CAIRO – 24 July 2022: Professor of Geology and Water Resources at Cairo University stated Saturday in a phone-in that satellite images show that the third filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) began on July 11.

The professor added that two billion cubic meters of water have been held so far, and that three billion cubic meters of water are expected to be held over the coming two weeks given that the quantity of rain falling is getting larger.  

The water resources expert pointed out that by the conclusion of the third filling, the quantity of water held in the reservoir will range between 12 and 13 billion cubic meters. Yet, he stressed that Egypt's Nile water share will not be affected this year.

Sharaqy further noted that construction works in the dam would persist for 5-6 years because the middle wall needs to be more heightened for the reservoir's capacity to become 74 billion cubic meters as initially planned.

The first filling of the GERD took place on July 1- 21, 2020 with 4.9 billion cubic meters, while the second was carried out on July 4 – 18, 2021 with around three billion cubic meters.

Sharaqi had stated earlier this month that two billion cubic meters had been released since April by opening two gates, anticipating that the third filling would be carried out between July 10 and August 5.

The dispute among Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia dates back to May 2011 when Ethiopia started building the dam; Egypt voiced concern over its water share [55.5 billion cubic meters].

Constructions in the Grand Renaissance Dam started on April 2, 2011 at a cost of $4.8 billion. It was built by the Italian construction and engineering company Salini Impergilo. The dam is located on the Blue Nile with a planned reservoir capacity of 74 billion cubic meters, and was expected to generate up to 6,000 megawatts of power.

However, it is estimated to generate only 3,000 megawatts, as the number of turbines to be installed has been reduced to 13 turbines down from 16.

On January 13, Ethiopia declared it would begin removing 17,000 hectares of forests in February, which would take 60 days, to make possible conducting the third filling of the dam.