Are Egypt's new water discoveries just a distraction?

Egypt keeps stacking its stories up higher as its water woes deepen.
An Egyptian farmer stands in a well of water used to irrigate his land in a farm affected by drought and formerly irrigated by the river Nile, in El-Dakahlya, about 120 km (75 miles) from Cairo June 4, 2013. Ethiopia has not thought hard enough about the impact of its ambitious dam project along the Nile, Egypt said on Sunday, underlining how countries down stream are concerned about its impact on water supplies. The Egyptian presidency was citing the findings of a report put together by a panel of experts
An Egyptian farmer stands in a well of water used to irrigate his land in a farm affected by drought and formerly irrigated by the river Nile, in El-Dakahleya, June 4, 2013. Ethiopia has not thought hard enough about the impact of its ambitious dam project along the Nile, Egypt's authorities said. - REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Rami Galal.jpg
Rami Galal
@@ramiglal
Read in 

It seems every time Egypt finds itself in a critical position in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam negotiations, it rushes to announce the discovery of some new groundwater reserve.

That happened in 2012 against the backdrop of the failed settlement with Ethiopia under then-Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. At that time, the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation announced the discovery of an underground basin in the Qattara Depression — enough water to support the cultivation of 260,000 acres of land. However, the details of the discovery still haven't been disclosed.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.

Videos

See more