Professor of Geology and Water Resources at Cairo University Abbas Sharaky on Thursday revealed the impact of the water stoppage above the middle spillway of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), for the first time since the televised inauguration on September 9.

The increase in water discharge from the upper spillway gates exceeded 635 million cubic meters per day through four gates, he explained, leading to a drop in the level of the GERD’s lake on September 25, from 640 meters at the middle spillway level.

In a post on his Facebook official account, Sharaky explained that the water flow from above the dam has therefore stopped, and this is not expected to happen in the future except in extreme emergencies.

The increased discharge from the GERD has led to a rise in the level of the Blue Nile in Khartoum beyond the flood level, he noted, amid ongoing warnings from the Sudanese Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation to residents of the rising Nile level in most of Sudan

He noted that with the continued shutdown of the turbines, the overflow gates are now the only source of drainage for the ongoing rainwater.

The number of overflow gates is expected to be reduced in the coming days as rainfall gradually decreases from 350 million m3 for the rest of September to an average of 200 million m3 per day next month, he explained.

“The flooding of water ceasing over the middle spillway, the operation or continued shutdown of turbines, and closure of the upper spillway gates, all of this does not affect the flow of water to Egypt until the end of the season, even if the turbines remain shut down and the spillway gates remain closed.”

“There is a mandatory opening (of the upper spillway gates) before the next flood season. However, the greatest impact is on Sudan, whether through increased discharge, the closure of the spillway gates, or the shutdown of the turbines.”  Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm