Egypt blames Ethiopia for ‘man-made flood’ from GERD endangering downstream nations
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed inaugurated the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)
Egypt accused Ethiopian dam operators of “flouting accepted technical and scientific practices” by stockpiling far more water than expected at the end of August while sharply reducing releases from about 280 million cubic meters a day to just 110 million cubic meters on 8 September.
The ministry affirmed that Ethiopia, instead, should have followed a gradual and scientifically regulated process of storing water in GERD between July and October, before releasing it steadily throughout the year to generate electricity.
The Blue Nile’s flood season runs from July to October and typically peaks in August, the statement noted.
The ministry stated that the recent unilateral filling of the dam by Ethiopian operators was designed to quickly raise water levels to 640 meters above sea level.
Ethiopia then opened the dam’s middle and emergency spillways for only a few hours, solely for a “media snapshot and political show” during the inauguration “without any regard for water safety or the interests of downstream states.”
What Caused the Flood?
The Egyptian ministry said Ethiopia abruptly and ‘without justification’ released massive volumes of stored water, estimated at about 2 billion cubic meters, during September.
Estimates showed a drop of nearly one meter, equivalent to the release of about 2 billion cubic meters of stored water, besides the normal flood-related discharges.
On 10 September, after the dam inauguration, operators discharged an estimated 485 million cubic meters of water in a single day, followed by “sudden and unexplained” surges that peaked at 780 million cubic meters on 27 September, before dropping to 380 million on 30 September.
This, Egypt said, increased the volume of water released downstream and underscored “the unregulated and chaotic nature of the dam’s management.”
