CAIRO — Though water-scarce Egypt is on the verge of flood season, Cairo has declared a state of emergency due to a decline in water flow from last year. Yet water experts say the country is in good enough shape because of its reserves and water conservation measures. 

“The job of an irrigation engineer in Egypt has changed," Mohammed al-Sibai, spokesman for the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, told Al-Monitor. "We no longer manage water flooding but manage water scarcity, and make precise plans to deal with it, so as not to harm the main interests and the citizens’ needs.”

The ministry reported July 27 that the total annual Nile River flow dropped 5 billion cubic meters (1.3 trillion gallons, or 6.5 billion cubic yards) from the year before due to decreased floodwaters from the Ethiopian plateau and equatorial lakes.

The government imposed a state of emergency in all governorates to regulate and manage water, especially to meet water needs for drinking and domestic use. "Egypt's annual water quota … will not be affected by the decline," Sibai said. “A state of emergency means keeping all of the Water Ministry’s departments on maximum alert to periodically follow up on the water situation in the main riverbed and all canals and water channels in the governorates."