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136-704: The city of Alexandria receives its water from the Nile River through the Mahmoudiyah Canal and the "Drinking Water Canal" that branches off from the Mahoudiyah Canal. Six water treatment plants draw their raw water from these two canals. The Noubaria Canal brings Nile water to the settlements in the western part of the Governorate. Two more water treatment plants are located on the Noubaria Canal. Because Alexandria

272-601: A dead zone . Estuaries tend to be naturally eutrophic because land-derived nutrients are concentrated where runoff enters the marine environment in a confined channel. The World Resources Institute has identified 375 hypoxic coastal zones around the world, concentrated in coastal areas in Western Europe, the Eastern and Southern coasts of the US, and East Asia, particularly in Japan. In

408-500: A 26% increase in hydrogen ion concentration in the world's oceans (the pH scale is logarithmic, so a change of one in pH units is equivalent to a tenfold change in hydrogen ion concentration). Sea-surface pH and carbonate saturation states vary depending on ocean depth and location. Colder and higher latitude waters are capable of absorbing more CO 2 . This can cause acidity to rise, lowering the pH and carbonate saturation levels in these areas. There are several other factors that influence

544-433: A Turkish officer, Selim Bimbashi, were made between 1839 and 1842, and two got to the point about 30 kilometres (20 miles) beyond the present port of Juba , where the country rises and rapids make navigation very difficult. Lake Victoria was first sighted by Europeans in 1858 when British explorer John Hanning Speke reached its southern shore while traveling with Richard Francis Burton to explore central Africa and locate

680-442: A change to tissue matter, biochemistry, behavior, reproduction, and suppress growth in marine life. Also, many animal feeds have a high fish meal or fish hydrolysate content. In this way, marine toxins can be transferred to land animals, and appear later in meat and dairy products. There are many ways to categorize and examine the inputs of pollution into marine ecosystems. There are three main types of inputs of pollution into

816-736: A distance of 20 days' journey till it reaches the nearest Ethiopians." Modern exploration of the Nile basin began with the conquest of the northern and central Sudan by the Ottoman viceroy of Egypt, Muhammad Ali , and his sons from 1821 onward. As a result of this, the Blue Nile was known as far as its exit from the Ethiopian foothills and the White Nile as far as the mouth of the Sobat River. Three expeditions under

952-462: A factor of 15 at Aswan. Peak flows of over 8,212 m /s (290,000 cu ft/s) occurred during late August and early September, and minimum flows of about 552 m /s (19,500 cu ft/s) occurred during late April and early May. The Bahr al Ghazal and the Sobat River are the two most important tributaries of the White Nile in terms of discharge. The Bahr al Ghazal's drainage basin

1088-426: A growing global population", and the impact billions of pieces of plastic waste are having globally on the health of marine environments. Bjorn Jennssen (2003) notes in his article, "Anthropogenic pollution may reduce biodiversity and productivity of marine ecosystems, resulting in reduction and depletion of human marine food resources". There are two ways the overall level of this pollution can be mitigated: either

1224-514: A plan for Integrated Urban Water Management has been developed. It has assessed “how Alexandria can meet a large part of its future water demand locally without depending mainly on Nile Waters”. According to the plan rainwater harvesting , stormwater usage, water reuse and water demand management could help in reaching that goal. WaterWorld: Egypt's Iron Lady of Water , a 2012 interview with Nadia Abdou, Chairperson of Alexandria Water Company. Nile River The Nile (also known as

1360-413: A relatively high density and are toxic or poisonous at low concentrations. Examples are mercury , lead , copper and cadmium . Some toxicants can accumulate in the tissues of many species of aquatic life in a process called bioaccumulation . They are also known to accumulate in benthic environments , such as estuaries and bay muds : a geological record of human activities of the last century. DDT

1496-406: A result of anthropogenic inputs or alternatively may be something that is now more closely monitored and so more frequently reported. The biggest culprit are rivers that empty into the ocean, and with it the many chemicals used as fertilizers in agriculture as well as waste from livestock and humans . An excess of oxygen-depleting chemicals in the water can lead to hypoxia and the creation of

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1632-412: A significant backlash on the domestic economy . Marine debris , also known as marine litter, is human-created solid material that has deliberately or accidentally been released in seas or the ocean . Floating oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and on coastlines , frequently washing aground, when it is known as beach litter or tidewrack. Deliberate disposal of wastes at sea

1768-516: A third was recycled or composted. In 2015, there was over 8 million tons of plastic that made it into the ocean. The Ocean Conservancy reported that China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam dump more plastic in the sea than all other countries combined. Through more sustainable packing this could lead to; eliminating toxic constituents, using fewer materials, making more readily available recyclable plastic. However, awareness can only take these initiatives so far. The most abundant plastic

1904-618: A wide variety of products such as firefighting foams , clothing, carpets, and fast food wrappers. These useful properties in manufacturing unfortunately translate to problematic properties in the environment and organisms from plants to people. Because PFAS are not broken down in the environment, they have been circulated through the air and water to essentially all regions of the atmosphere, land, and ocean. These chemicals have many negative effects on marine life, such as significantly inhibited growth of phytoplankton over time and accumulation in seals, polar bears, and dolphins. Current research

2040-801: A world largely defined by acoustic information. This applies also to many deeper sea fish, who live in a world of darkness. Between 1950 and 1975, ambient noise at one location in the Pacific Ocean increased by about ten decibels (that is a tenfold increase in intensity). Noise also makes species communicate louder, which is called the Lombard vocal response. Whale songs are longer when submarine-detectors are on. If creatures don't "speak" loud enough, their voice can be masked by anthropogenic sounds. These unheard voices might be warnings, finding of prey, or preparations of net-bubbling. When one species begins speaking louder, it will mask other species voices, causing

2176-522: Is silt -bearing surface runoff , which can inhibit the penetration of sunlight through the water column, hampering photosynthesis in aquatic plants. Much anthropogenic pollution ends up in the ocean. The 2011 edition of the United Nations Environment Programme Year Book identifies as the main emerging environmental issues the loss to the oceans of massive amounts of phosphorus , "a valuable fertilizer needed to feed

2312-438: Is 1.4 million m3 per day. The two main plants with a combined capacity of about 1 million m3 per day provide only primary treatment. Only one third of wastewater samples were in compliance with regulations in 2007. The city of Alexandria faces several environmental challenges. One is the expected long-term rise in the level that threatens to gradually inundate the city. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) expects

2448-565: Is PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) and is the most resistant to biodegradables. Researchers have been making great strides in combating this problem. In one way has been by adding a special polymer called a tetrablock copolymer. The tetrablock copolymer acts as a laminate between the PE and iPP which enables for an easier breakdown but still be tough. Through more awareness, individuals will become more cognizant of their carbon footprints. Also, from research and technology, more strides can be made to aid in

2584-672: Is a Central Laboratory that has been certified according to the ISO 17025 :2005 standard. Water samples are taken on a weekly basis from the distribution network and showed a 98.4% compliance with standards in 2010–11. As of 2005, all eight members of AWCO's Board of Directors, including its chairperson, Nadia Abdou, were women, making it one of the few utilities in the Arab world run by women. The board of directors consists of five members who are AWCO staff, including its chairperson, as well as four external board members. Two external board members are appointed by

2720-413: Is a combination of chemicals and trash, most of which comes from land sources and is washed or blown into the ocean. This pollution results in damage to the environment, to the health of all organisms, and to economic structures worldwide. Since most inputs come from land, either via the rivers , sewage or the atmosphere, it means that continental shelves are more vulnerable to pollution. Air pollution

2856-460: Is a very toxic chemical that was used as a pesticide in mass quantities throughout the United States and is known to be neurotoxic, a reproductive toxin, an endocrine disruptor, and a carcinogen. DDT is a major focus of the book Silent Spring published by Rachel Carson in 1962. This is often attributed to launching the modern environmental movement and setting the stage for the creation of

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2992-838: Is also a contributing factor by carrying off iron, carbonic acid, nitrogen , silicon, sulfur, pesticides or dust particles into the ocean. The pollution often comes from nonpoint sources such as agricultural runoff , wind-blown debris , and dust. These nonpoint sources are largely due to runoff that enters the ocean through rivers, but wind-blown debris and dust can also play a role, as these pollutants can settle into waterways and oceans. Pathways of pollution include direct discharge, land runoff, ship pollution , bilge pollution , atmospheric pollution and, potentially, deep sea mining . The types of marine pollution can be grouped as pollution from marine debris , plastic pollution , including microplastics , ocean acidification , nutrient pollution , toxins and underwater noise. Plastic pollution in

3128-461: Is an archaeological site located in alluvial deposits formed by an ancient channel of the Nile in the Affad region of southern Dongola Reach , Sudan. There are two theories about the age of the integrated Nile. One is that the integrated drainage of the Nile is of young age and that the Nile basin was formerly broken into series of separate basins, only the most northerly of which fed a river following

3264-401: Is another source of marine pollution. Most of the pollution is simply soil, which ends up in rivers flowing to the sea. However, some minerals discharged in the course of the mining can cause problems, such as copper , a common industrial pollutant, which can interfere with the life history and development of coral polyps. Mining has a poor environmental track record. For example, according to

3400-495: Is approximated that there is a stock of 86 million tons of plastic marine debris in the worldwide ocean as of the end of 2013, assuming that 1.4% of global plastics produced from 1950 to 2013 has entered the ocean and has accumulated there. Global consumption of plastics is estimated to be 300 million tonnes per year as of 2022, with around 8 million tonnes ending up in the oceans as macroplastics. Approximately 1.5 million tonnes of primary microplastics end up in

3536-625: Is approximately 1,218 m /s (43,000 cu ft/s) in October and minimum flow is about 609 m /s (21,500 cu ft/s) in April. This fluctuation is caused by the substantial variation in the flow of the Sobat, which has a minimum flow of about 99 m /s (3,500 cu ft/s) in March and a peak flow of over 680 m /s (24,000 cu ft/s) in October. During the dry season (January to June)

3672-400: Is bound to have a hard, sweeping impact on life in the sea." Noise from ships and human activity can damage Cnidarians and Ctenophora, which are very important organisms in the marine ecosystem. They promote high diversity and they are used as models for ecology and biology because of their simple structures. When there is underwater noise, the vibrations in the water damage the cilia hairs in

3808-426: Is called ocean dumping . Naturally occurring debris, such as driftwood and drift seeds , are also present. With the increasing use of plastic , human influence has become an issue as many types of (petrochemical) plastics do not biodegrade quickly, as would natural or organic materials. The largest single type of plastic pollution (~10%) and majority of large plastic in the oceans is discarded and lost nets from

3944-721: Is in Egypt. Below the Aswan Dam , at the northern limit of Lake Nasser, the Nile resumes its historic course. North of Cairo , the Nile splits into two branches (or distributaries) that feed the Mediterranean: the Rosetta Branch to the west and the Damietta to the east, forming the Nile Delta . The annual sediment transport by the Nile in Egypt has been quantified. Below the confluence with

4080-417: Is located downstream on the Nile, raw water quality is degraded , including by silt, weeds and debris. The salinity of the water is also elevated at around 600 parts per million. The water undergoes extensive treatment so that it complies with Egyptian drinking water quality standards. Each water treatment plant has its own laboratory that regularly monitors the quality of the treated water. In addition, there

4216-399: Is mainly discarded human rubbish which floats on, or is suspended in the ocean. Eighty percent of marine debris is plastic . Microplastics and nanoplastics result from the breakdown or photodegradation of plastic waste in surface waters, rivers or oceans. Recently, scientists have uncovered nanoplastics in heavy snow, more specifically about 3,000 tons that cover Switzerland yearly. It

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4352-463: Is needed. It is often very difficult to regulate marine pollution because pollution spreads over international barriers, thus making regulations hard to create as well as enforce. Without appropriate awareness of marine pollution, the necessary global will to effectively address the issues may prove inadequate. Balanced information on the sources and harmful effects of marine pollution need to become part of general public awareness, and ongoing research

4488-613: Is required to fully establish, and keep current, the scope of the issues. As expressed in Daoji and Dag's research, one of the reasons why environmental concern is lacking among the Chinese is because the public awareness is low and therefore should be targeted. The amount of awareness on marine pollution is vital to the support of keeping the prevention of trash from entering waterways and ending up in our oceans. The EPA reports that in 2014 Americans generated about 258 million tons of waste, and only

4624-401: Is that the degradation of algal blooms can lead to consumption of oxygen in coastal waters, a situation that may worsen with climate change as warming reduces vertical mixing of the water column. Many potentially toxic chemicals adhere to tiny particles which are then taken up by plankton and benthic animals , most of which are either deposit feeders or filter feeders . In this way,

4760-410: Is the furthest downstream on the river. Such a decrease could be caused by global warming or by increased water use from upstream countries. One option for Alexandria to respond to the latter challenges is to embark on seawater desalination , which is energy-intensive and thus not only expensive, but would further contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Under an EU-funded research project called SWITCH,

4896-568: Is the largest of any of the Nile's sub-basins, measuring 520,000 square kilometers (200,000 sq mi) in size, but it contributes a relatively small amount of water, about 2 m /s (71 cu ft/s) annually, because tremendous volumes of water are lost in the Sudd wetlands. The Sobat River, which joins the Nile a short distance below Lake No, drains about half as much land, 225,000 km (86,900 sq mi), but contributes 412 cubic meters per second (14,500 cu ft/s) annually to

5032-543: Is thus higher than in other countries in the region or in Europe, which has a favorable impact on revenues. Sanitation tariffs are a surcharge of 35% to the water bill. Revenues for sanitation are passed on to the Alexandria Drainage Company after deduction of a service fee. ASDCO does not recover its operating costs. Until the 1980s domestic and industrial sewage from Alexandria were discharged without treatment into

5168-534: Is traditionally considered to be the headwaters stream. However, the Blue Nile is the source of most of the water of the Nile downstream, containing 80% of the water and silt . The White Nile is longer and rises in the Great Lakes region. It begins at Lake Victoria and flows through Uganda and South Sudan. The Blue Nile begins at Lake Tana in Ethiopia and flows into Sudan from the southeast. The two rivers meet at

5304-427: Is underway investigating the full extent of the harm to marine ecosystems caused by PFAS. Marine life can be susceptible to noise or the sound pollution from sources such as passing ships, oil exploration seismic surveys, and naval low-frequency active sonar . Sound travels more rapidly and over larger distances in the sea than in the atmosphere. Marine animals, such as cetaceans , often have weak eyesight, and live in

5440-690: The Caribbean and Florida during the warm season as the ridge builds and moves northward through the subtropical Atlantic. Dust can also be attributed to a global transport from the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts across Korea , Japan , and the Northern Pacific to the Hawaiian Islands . Since 1970, dust outbreaks have worsened due to periods of drought in Africa. There is a large variability in dust transport to

5576-620: The Democratic Republic of the Congo , Tanzania , Burundi , Rwanda , Uganda , Kenya , Ethiopia , Eritrea , South Sudan , Sudan , and Egypt . In particular, the Nile is the primary water source of Egypt, Sudan and South Sudan. The Nile is an important economic driver supporting agriculture and fishing. The Nile has two major tributaries : the White Nile and the Blue Nile . The White Nile

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5712-652: The EPA in 1970. DDT was banned in the U.S. two years later in 1972. Unfortunately, large quantities had already entered the ocean through runoff and had been dumped directly into the ocean. This toxin impacts marine ecosystems by accumulating from lower trophic levels and up the food chain into higher trophic levels such as from arctic cod into seals, from fish then eaten by dolphins, and from cod and eels into seals. Shortly after Rachel Carson's publication of Silent Spring, PCBs were identified as another persistent, toxic chemical that has been released in extensive quantities to

5848-557: The Mediterranean Sea , where it caused pollution of beaches and degradation of aquatic life. Therefore, the local authorities decided to treat wastewater and discharge it into Lake Mariout , an important fishing ground and recreational area. The discharge of domestic and industrial wastewater, as well as nutrient-rich agricultural drainage, caused the degradation of the lake's water quality and its biodiversity . Ten wastewater treatment plants are operated by ASDCO. Their total capacity

5984-634: The Paleogene and Neogene Periods (66 million to 2.588 million years ago) a series of separate closed continental basins each occupied one of the major parts of the Sudanese Rift System: Mellut rift , White Nile rift , Blue Nile rift , Atbara rift and Sag El Naam rift . The Mellut Basin is nearly 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) deep at its central part. This rift is possibly still active, with reported tectonic activity in its northern and southern boundaries. The Sudd swamp which forms

6120-542: The Raritan River in New Jersey , which empty at the northern and southern ends of Staten Island , are a source of mercury contamination of zooplankton ( copepods ) in the open ocean. The highest concentration in the filter-feeding copepods is not at the mouths of these rivers but 70 miles (110 km) south, nearer Atlantic City , because water flows close to the coast. It takes a few days before toxins are taken up by

6256-655: The River Nile or Nile River ) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa . It flows into the Mediterranean Sea . The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the longest river in the world , though this has been contested by research suggesting that the Amazon River is slightly longer. Of the world's major rivers, the Nile is one of the smallest, as measured by annual flow in cubic metres of water. About 6,650 km (4,130 mi) long, its drainage basin covers eleven countries:

6392-658: The United States Environmental Protection Agency , mining has contaminated portions of the headwaters of over 40% of watersheds in the western continental US. Much of this pollution finishes up in the sea. Surface runoff from farming, as well as urban runoff and runoff from the construction of roads, buildings, ports, channels, and harbours, can carry soil and particles laden with carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and minerals. This nutrient-rich water can cause fleshy algae and phytoplankton to thrive in coastal areas; known as algal blooms , which have

6528-597: The atmosphere is absorbed by the oceans. This chemical reaction produces carbonic acid ( H 2 CO 3 ) which dissociates into a bicarbonate ion ( HCO − 3 ) and a hydrogen ion ( H ). The presence of free hydrogen ions ( H ) lowers the pH of the ocean, increasing acidity (this does not mean that seawater is acidic yet; it is still alkaline , with a pH higher than 8). Marine calcifying organisms , such as mollusks and corals , are especially vulnerable because they rely on calcium carbonate to build shells and skeletons. A change in pH by 0.1 represents

6664-456: The discharge at any given point along the main stem depends on many factors including weather, diversions, evaporation and evapotranspiration , and groundwater flow. Upstream from Khartoum (to the south), the river is known as the White Nile , a term also used in a limited sense to describe the section between Lake No and Khartoum. At Khartoum, the river is joined by the Blue Nile . The White Nile starts in equatorial East Africa, and

6800-430: The dry season ) an appreciable incoming surface flow for many kilometres upstream, and found a new source, giving the Nile a length of 6,758 km (4,199 mi). The White Nile leaves Lake Victoria at Ripon Falls near Jinja, Uganda , as the "Victoria Nile." It flows north for some 130 kilometers (81 mi) to Lake Kyoga . The last part of the approximately 200 kilometers (120 mi) river section starts from

6936-571: The plankton . Pollution is often classed as point source or nonpoint source pollution . Point source pollution occurs when there is a single, identifiable, localized source of the pollution. An example is directly discharging sewage and industrial waste into the ocean. Pollution such as this occurs particularly in developing nations . Nonpoint source pollution occurs when the pollution is from ill-defined and diffuse sources. These can be difficult to regulate. Agricultural runoff and wind blown debris are prime examples. Pollutants enter rivers and

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7072-856: The sediment and marine environment. Additionally, bilge pollution can be toxic to the surrounding environment when bilge water is released from a ship's bilge . Oil spills are one of the most emotive of marine pollution events. However, while a tanker wreck may result in extensive newspaper headlines, much of the oil in the world's seas comes from other smaller sources, such as tankers discharging ballast water from oil tanks used on return ships, leaking pipelines or engine oil disposed of down sewers. Discharge of cargo residues from bulk carriers can pollute ports, waterways, and oceans. In many instances vessels intentionally discharge illegal wastes despite foreign and domestic regulation prohibiting such actions. An absence of national standards provides an incentive for some cruise liners to dump waste in places where

7208-540: The Bahr al Jabal at a small lagoon called Lake No , after which the Nile becomes known as the Bahr al Abyad , or the White Nile, from the whitish clay suspended in its waters. When the Nile floods it leaves a rich silty deposit which fertilizes the soil. The Nile no longer floods in Egypt since the completion of the Aswan Dam in 1970. An anabranch river, the Bahr el Zeraf , flows out of

7344-506: The Black, Caspian, and Azov seas, were probably transported to the Great Lakes via ballast water from a transoceanic vessel. Meinesz believes that one of the worst cases of a single invasive species causing harm to an ecosystem can be attributed to a seemingly harmless jellyfish . Mnemiopsis leidyi , a species of comb jellyfish that spread so it now inhabits estuaries in many parts of the world,

7480-624: The Blue Nile begins in Ethiopia. Both branches are on the western flanks of the East African Rift . The source of the Blue Nile is Lake Tana in the Gish Abay region in the Ethiopian Highlands . The source of the White Nile, even after centuries of exploration, remains in dispute. The most remote source that is indisputably a source for the White Nile is the Kagera River ; however,

7616-557: The Blue Nile the only major tributary is the Atbarah River , also known as the Red Nile. Roughly halfway to the sea, it originates in Ethiopia north of Lake Tana , and is around 800 kilometers (500 mi) long. The Atbarah flows only while there is rain in Ethiopia and dries very rapidly. During the dry period of January to June, it typically dries up north of Khartoum . The Blue Nile ( Amharic : ዓባይ , ʿĀbay ) springs from Lake Tana in

7752-548: The Caribbean and Florida from year to year; however, the flux is greater during positive phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation . The USGS links dust events to a decline in the health of coral reefs across the Caribbean and Florida, primarily since the 1970s. Climate change is raising ocean temperatures and raising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere . These rising levels of carbon dioxide are acidifying

7888-476: The Coelenterates. In a study, the organisms were exposed to sound waves for different numbers of times and the results showed that damaged hair cells were extruded or missing or presented bent, flaccid or missed kinocilia and stereocilia. Ships can be certified to meet certain noise criteria. There are a variety of secondary effects stemming not from the original pollutant, but a derivative condition. An example

8024-573: The Congo, but the Nile is not a border river at this point. After leaving Lake Albert, the river continues north through Uganda and is known as the Albert Nile . The White Nile flows into South Sudan just south of Nimule , where it is known as the Bahr al Jabal ("Mountain River" ). Just south of the town is the confluence with the Achwa River . The Bahr al Ghazal , 716 kilometers (445 mi) long, joins

8160-528: The Delta, and would have been pronounced ni-lo-he in the area around Memphis in the 8th century BCE. Hesiod at his Theogony refers to Nilus (Νεῖλος) as one of the Potamoi (river gods), son of Oceanus and Tethys . Another derivation of Nile might be related to the term Nil ( Sanskrit : नील , romanized :  nila ; Egyptian Arabic : نيلة ), which refers to Indigofera tinctoria , one of

8296-414: The Ethiopian rainy season when rainfall is especially high in the Ethiopian Highlands ; the rest of the year, the great rivers draining Ethiopia into the Nile have a weaker flow. In harsh and arid seasons and droughts, the Blue Nile dries out completely. The flow of the Blue Nile varies considerably over its yearly cycle and is the main contribution to the large natural variation of the Nile flow. During

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8432-610: The Ethiopian Highlands, satellite imagery was used to identify dry watercourses in the desert to the west of the Nile. A canyon, now filled by surface drift, represents the Eonile that flowed during 23–5.3 million years before present. The Eonile transported clastic sediments to the Mediterranean; several natural gas fields have been discovered within these sediments. During the late- Miocene Messinian salinity crisis , when

8568-486: The Ethiopian Highlands. The Blue Nile flows about 1,400 kilometres to Khartoum, where the Blue Nile and White Nile join to form the Nile. Ninety percent of the water and ninety-six percent of the transported sediment carried by the Nile come from the Atbarah and Blue Nile, both of which originate in Ethiopia, with fifty-nine percent of the water coming from the Blue Nile. The erosion and transportation of silt only occurs during

8704-464: The Governorate of Alexandria and two by the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater that owns AWCO and to which its board of directors reports. AWCO is free to use its operating budget in any way it wants. However, investment plans and any internal restructuring have to be approved by the Holding Company. Increases of residential tariffs are infrequent. They have to be approved by the holding company,

8840-830: The Kagera has tributaries that are in contention for the farthest source of the White Nile. Two start in Burundi: the Ruvyironza River (also known as the Luvironza) and the Rurubu River . In addition, in 2010, an exploration party in Rwanda went to a place described as the source of the Rukarara tributary, and by hacking a path up steep jungle-choked mountain slopes in the Nyungwe Forest found (in

8976-474: The Mediterranean Sea was a closed basin and evaporated to the point of being empty or nearly so, the Nile cut its course down to the new base level until it was several hundred metres below world ocean level at Aswan and 2,400 m (7,900 ft) below Cairo. This created a very long and deep canyon which was filled with sediment after the Mediterranean was recreated. At some point the sediments raised

9112-570: The Middle East and Africa, and described being told of the source of the Nile in Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Later in the 15th and 16th centuries, travelers to Ethiopia visited Lake Tana and the source of the Blue Nile in the mountains south of the lake. Supposedly, Paolo Trevisani ( c.  1452 –1483), a Venetian traveller in Ethiopia, wrote a journal of his travels to the origin of the Nile that has since been lost. Although James Bruce claimed to be

9248-456: The Netherlands) helped in bringing about these improvements. It is not clear to what extent these improvements were sustained over time. According to one study, collection efficiency declined again to 65-70% in 2008. In 2004 AWCO was the only water utility in Egypt generating revenue sufficient to cover all operation and maintenance costs and debt service. The ratio of revenues to operating costs

9384-605: The Nile near the southern point of the Great Bend. The Nile has been the lifeline of civilization in Egypt since the Stone Age , with most of the population and all of the cities of Egypt developing along those parts of the Nile valley lying north of Aswan. However, the Nile used to run much more westerly through what is now Wadi Hamim and Wadi al Maqar in Libya and flow into the Gulf of Sidra . As

9520-515: The Nile since ancient times. A tune, Hymn to the Nile , was created and sung by the ancient Egyptian peoples about the flooding of the Nile River and all of the miracles it brought to Ancient Egyptian civilization. Water buffalo were introduced from Asia, and the Assyrians introduced camels in the 7th century BCE. These animals were raised for meat and were domesticated and used for ploughing—or in

9656-403: The Nile valley north of the Aswan Dam . Nearly all the cultural and historical sites of Ancient Egypt developed and are found along river banks. The Nile is, with the Rhône and Po , one of the three Mediterranean rivers with the largest water discharge . The standard English names "White Nile" and "Blue Nile" refer to the river's source, derived from Arabic names formerly applied to only

9792-512: The Nile's Bahr al Jabal section and rejoins the White Nile. The flow rate of the Bahr al Jabal at Mongalla is almost constant throughout the year and averages 1,048 m /s (37,000 cu ft/s). After Mongalla, the Bahr Al Jabal enters the enormous swamps of the Sudd region. More than half of the Nile's water is lost in this swamp to evaporation and transpiration . The average flow rate of

9928-577: The Nile. When in flood the Sobat carries a large amount of sediment, adding greatly to the White Nile's color. The Yellow Nile is a former tributary that connected the Ouaddaï highlands of eastern Chad to the Nile River Valley c.  8000 to c.  1000 BCE . Its remains are known as the Wadi Howar . The wadi passes through Gharb Darfur near the northern border with Chad and meets up with

10064-520: The Sudanese capital of Khartoum . The northern section of the river flows north almost entirely through the Nubian Desert to Cairo and its large delta , and the river flows into the Mediterranean Sea at Alexandria . Egyptian civilization and Sudanese kingdoms have depended on the river and its annual flooding since ancient times. Most of the population and cities of Egypt lie along those parts of

10200-425: The Sudanese stretches that meet at Khartoum . In the ancient Egyptian language , the Nile is called Ḥꜥpy (Hapy) or Jtrw (Iteru), meaning "river". In Coptic , the word ⲫⲓⲁⲣⲟ , pronounced piaro ( Sahidic ) or phiaro ( Bohairic ), means "the river" (lit. p(h).iar-o "the.canal-great"), and comes from the same ancient name. In Nobiin , the river is called Áman Dawū , meaning "the great water". In Luganda ,

10336-541: The Sudd wetlands of South Sudan, the upper reaches of the White Nile remained largely unknown to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Vitruvius thought that source of the Nile was in Mauritania, on the "other" (south) side of the Atlas Mountains . Various expeditions failed to determine the river's source. Agatharchides records that in the time of Ptolemy II Philadelphus , a military expedition had penetrated far enough along

10472-448: The US alone. Another pathway of pollution occurs through the atmosphere. The ocean has long been affected by the passage of chemicals from the atmosphere (e.g. nutrient source; pH influence). Wind-blown dust and debris, including plastic bags , are blown seaward from landfills and other areas. Dust from the Sahara moving around the southern periphery of the subtropical ridge moves into

10608-408: The White Nile at the tails of the swamps is about 510 m /s (18,000 cu ft/s). From here it meets with the Sobat River at Malakal . On an annual basis, the White Nile upstream of Malakal contributes about 15% of the total outflow of the Nile. The average flow of the White Nile at Lake Kawaki Malakal, just below the Sobat River, is 924 m /s (32,600 cu ft/s); the peak flow

10744-502: The White Nile contributes between 70% and 90% of the total discharge from the Nile. Below Renk , the White Nile enters Sudan, it flows north to Khartoum and meets the Blue Nile. The course of the Nile in Sudan is distinctive. It flows over six groups of cataracts , from the sixth at Sabaloka just north of Khartoum northward to Abu Hamad . The tectonic uplift of the Nubian Swell diverts

10880-593: The afterlife. The east was thought of as a place of birth and growth, and the west was considered the place of death, as the god Ra , the Sun, underwent birth, death, and resurrection each day as he crossed the sky. Thus, all tombs were west of the Nile, because the Egyptians believed that in order to enter the afterlife, they had to be buried on the side that symbolized death. As the Nile was such an important factor in Egyptian life,

11016-482: The ancient calendar was even based on the three cycles of the Nile. These seasons, each consisting of four months of thirty days each, were called Akhet , Peret , and Shemu . Akhet, which means inundation, was the time of the year when the Nile flooded, leaving several layers of fertile soil behind, aiding in agricultural growth. Peret was the growing season, and Shemu, the last season, was the harvest season when there were no rains. Owing to their failure to penetrate

11152-418: The annual new marine biological production. It has been suggested that accumulating reactive nitrogen in the environment may have consequences as serious as putting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. One proposed solution to eutrophication in estuaries is to restore shellfish populations, such as oysters. Oyster reefs remove nitrogen from the water column and filter out suspended solids, subsequently reducing

11288-459: The atmosphere-ocean CO 2 exchange, and thus local ocean acidification. These include ocean currents and upwelling zones, proximity to large continental rivers, sea ice coverage, and atmospheric exchange with nitrogen and sulfur from fossil fuel burning and agriculture . Eutrophication is an increase in chemical nutrients , typically compounds containing nitrogen or phosphorus , in an ecosystem . It can result in an increase in

11424-411: The camels' case, carriage. Water was vital to both people and livestock. The Nile was also a convenient and efficient means of transportation for people and goods. The Nile was also an important part of ancient Egyptian spiritual life. Hapi was the god of the annual floods, and both he and the pharaoh were thought to control the flooding. The Nile was considered to be a causeway from life to death and

11560-470: The central part of the basin may still be subsiding. The White Nile Rift system, although shallower than the Bahr el Arab rift , is about 9 kilometers (5.6 mi) deep. Geophysical exploration of the Blue Nile Rift System estimated the depth of the sediments to be 5–9 kilometers (3.1–5.6 mi). These basins were not interconnected until their subsidence ceased, and the rate of sediment deposition

11696-459: The course of the Blue Nile to determine that the summer floods were caused by heavy seasonal rainstorms in the Ethiopian Highlands, but no European of antiquity is known to have reached Lake Tana. The Tabula Rogeriana depicted the source as three lakes in 1154. Europeans began to learn about the origins of the Nile in the 14th century when the Pope sent monks as emissaries to Mongolia who passed India,

11832-492: The development of Egyptian civilization. Because the river overflowed its banks annually and deposited new layers of silt, the surrounding land was very fertile. The Ancient Egyptians cultivated and traded wheat, flax , papyrus and other crops around the Nile. Wheat was a crucial crop in the famine-plagued Middle East. This trading system secured Egypt's diplomatic relationships with other countries and contributed to economic stability. Far-reaching trade has been carried on along

11968-489: The disposal of untreated or partially treated sewage to rivers and subsequently oceans. These nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients (which are also contained in fertilizers ) stimulate phytoplankton and macroalgal growth, which can lead to harmful algal blooms ( eutrophication ) which can be harmful to humans as well as marine creatures. Excessive algal growth can also smother sensitive coral reefs and lead to loss of biodiversity and coral health. A second major concern

12104-402: The dry season the natural discharge of the Blue Nile can be as low as 113 m /s (4,000 cu ft/s), although upstream dams regulate the flow of the river. During the wet season, the peak flow of the Blue Nile often exceeds 5,663 m /s (200,000 cu ft/s) in late August (a difference of a factor of 50). Before the placement of dams on the river the yearly discharge varied by

12240-511: The ecosystem's primary productivity (excessive plant growth and decay), and further effects including lack of oxygen and severe reductions in water quality, fish, and other animal populations. Nutrient pollution , a form of water pollution , refers to contamination by excessive inputs of nutrients. It is a primary cause of eutrophication of surface waters, in which excess nutrients, usually nitrates or phosphates , stimulate algae growth. Such blooms are naturally occurring but may be increasing as

12376-1016: The environment. PCBs are a very well-studied class of chemicals that are manufactured from oil. These chemicals are banned in the United States under the Toxic Substance Control Act , but are still found in the soil, air, sediments, and biota. PCBs are known to accumulate in the fatty tissues of animals. In particular, PCBs build up and are stored in the blubber of marine mammals including dolphins and killer whales. These chemicals cause reproductive issues for many species. In mud crabs, PCBs have been discovered to be immunotoxic by reducing resistance to bacterial disease, reducing antioxidant enzyme activity, and damaging DNA responsible for immune system functions. PFAS are an important emerging class of man-made persistent toxicants that contain extremely strong carbon-fluorine bonds which make these chemicals extremely difficult to break down. They have unique properties that make them useful for manufacturing

12512-410: The etymology is disputed. Homer called the river Αἴγυπτος , Aiguptos , but in subsequent periods, Greek authors referred to its lower course as Neilos ; this term became generalized for the entire river system. Thus, the name may derive from Ancient Egyptian expression n ꜣ r ꜣ w-ḥ ꜣ w(t) (lit. 'the mouths of the front parts'), which referred specifically to the branches of the Nile transversing

12648-500: The first European to have visited the headwaters, modern writers give the credit to the Jesuit Pedro Páez . Páez's account of the source of the Nile is a long and vivid account of Ethiopia. It was published in full only in the early 20th century, although it was featured in works of Páez's contemporaries, including Baltazar Téllez, Athanasius Kircher and Johann Michael Vansleb . Europeans had been resident in Ethiopia since

12784-400: The fishing industry. Waterborne plastic poses a serious threat to fish , seabirds , marine reptiles , and marine mammals , as well as to boats and coasts. Marine plastic pollution is a type of marine pollution by plastics , ranging in size from large original material such as bottles and bags, down to microplastics formed from the fragmentation of plastic material. Marine debris

12920-556: The fragmentation of plastic material. This material is only very slowly degraded or removed from the ocean so plastic particles are now widespread throughout the surface ocean and are known to be having deleterious effects on marine life . Discarded plastic bags, six-pack rings, cigarette butts and other forms of plastic waste which finish up in the ocean present dangers to wildlife and fisheries. Aquatic life can be threatened through entanglement, suffocation, and ingestion. Fishing nets , usually made of plastic, can be left or lost in

13056-459: The great lakes. Believing he had found the source of the Nile on seeing this "vast expanse of open water" for the first time, Speke named the lake after Queen Victoria . Burton, recovering from illness and resting further south on the shores of Lake Tanganyika , was outraged that Speke claimed to have proven his discovery to be the true source of the Nile when Burton regarded this as still unsettled. A quarrel ensued which sparked intense debate within

13192-519: The human population is reduced, or a way is found to reduce the ecological footprint left behind by the average human. If the second way is not adopted, then the first way may be imposed as the world ecosystems falter. The second way is for humans, individually, to pollute less. That requires social and political will, together with a shift in awareness so more people respect the environment and are less disposed to abuse it. At an operational level, regulations, and international government participation

13328-505: The jellyfish have exhausted the zooplankton , including fish larvae, their numbers have fallen dramatically, yet they continue to maintain a stranglehold on the ecosystem . Invasive species can take over once occupied areas, facilitate the spread of new diseases, introduce new genetic material, alter underwater seascapes, and jeopardize the ability of native species to obtain food. Invasive species are responsible for about $ 138 billion annually in lost revenue and management costs in

13464-445: The lake's northern shore. Sea pollution Marine pollution occurs when substances used or spread by humans, such as industrial , agricultural and residential waste , particles , noise , excess carbon dioxide or invasive organisms enter the ocean and cause harmful effects there. The majority of this waste (80%) comes from land-based activity, although marine transportation significantly contributes as well. It

13600-592: The late 15th century, and one of them may have visited the headwaters even earlier without leaving a written trace. The Portuguese João Bermudes published the first description of the Tis Issat Falls in his 1565 memoirs, compared them to the Nile Falls alluded to in Cicero 's De Republica . Jerónimo Lobo describes the source of the Blue Nile, visiting shortly after Pedro Páez. Telles also uses his account. The White Nile

13736-432: The likelihood or extent of harmful algal blooms or anoxic conditions. Filter feeding activity is considered beneficial to water quality by controlling phytoplankton density and sequestering nutrients, which can be removed from the system through shellfish harvest, buried in the sediments, or lost through denitrification . Foundational work toward the idea of improving marine water quality through shellfish cultivation to

13872-562: The main Nile during the 70,000–80,000 years B.P. wet period. The White Nile system in Bahr El Arab and White Nile Rifts remained a closed lake until the connection of the Victoria Nile to the main system some 12,500 years ago during the African humid period . The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that "Egypt was the gift of the Nile". An unending source of sustenance, it played a crucial role in

14008-947: The national water regulatory agency EWRA, the Ministry of Housing, the Cabinet of Ministers, the President of the Republic and the National Assembly. Industrial tariffs can be set by the company. Between 2000 and 2004 the utility underwent a process of capacity development that manifested itself in the improvement of a number of performance indicators. For example, the utility introduced employee incentives. Field inspectors received five Egyptian pounds (about US$ 0.80) for each illegal connection they discovered. Also, meter readers and collectors received an incentive equal to up to 30% of their salary for exceeding monthly targets. Furthermore, water quality monitoring

14144-410: The number of rooms of the apartment or house. Non-residential metered tariffs vary between 0.60 and 2.30 Pound per cubic meter. They thus are up to ten times higher than the lowest block of the residential tariff. The highest tariff categories apply to private schools and universities and to large industries. Average water consumption is around 300 liter/capita/day (45m3 per month for a family of five). It

14280-429: The ocean by fishermen . Known as ghost nets , these entangle fish, dolphins , sea turtles , sharks , dugongs , crocodiles , seabirds , crabs , and other creatures, restricting movement, causing starvation , laceration , infection , and, in those that need to return to the surface to breathe, suffocation . There are various types of ocean plastics causing problems to marine life . Bottle caps have been found in

14416-449: The ocean is a type of marine pollution by plastics , ranging in size from large original material such as bottles and bags, down to microplastics formed from the fragmentation of plastic material. Marine debris is mainly discarded human rubbish which floats on, or is suspended in the ocean. Plastic pollution is harmful to marine life . Another concern is the runoff of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) from intensive agriculture , and

14552-764: The ocean through land runoff. This includes sewage discharge and pollution from urbanization and land use. In 2001, more than 66,795 mi of the Chinese coastal ocean waters were rated less than Class I of the Sea Water Quality Standard of China. Much of this pollution came from Ag, Cu, Cd, Pb, As, DDT, PCBs, etc., which occurred from contamination through land runoff. Ships can pollute waterways and oceans in many ways including through their ballast, bilge, and fuel tanks. Oil spills can have devastating effects. In addition to being toxic to marine life, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), found in crude oil , are very difficult to clean up, and last for years in

14688-446: The ocean, there are frequent red tide algae blooms that kill fish and marine mammals and cause respiratory problems in humans and some domestic animals when the blooms reach close to shore. In addition to land runoff , atmospheric anthropogenic fixed nitrogen can enter the open ocean. A study in 2008 found that this could account for around one third of the ocean's external (non-recycled) nitrogen supply and up to three per cent of

14824-466: The ocean: direct discharge of waste into the oceans, runoff into the waters due to rain, and pollutants released from the atmosphere. One common path of entry by contaminants to the sea are rivers. The evaporation of water from oceans exceeds precipitation. The balance is restored by rain over the continents entering rivers and then being returned to the sea. The Hudson River in New York State and

14960-440: The oceans . This, in turn, is altering aquatic ecosystems and modifying fish distributions, with impacts on the sustainability of fisheries and the livelihoods of the communities that depend on them. Healthy ocean ecosystems are also important for the mitigation of climate change. Some of the potential toxic metals include copper, zinc, cadmium, lead as well as rare earth elements such as lanthanum and yttrium . Following

15096-508: The original sources of indigo dye . Another may be Nymphaea caerulea , known as "The Sacred Blue Lily of the Nile", which was found scattered over Tutankhamun 's corpse when it was excavated in 1922. Another possible etymology derives from the Semitic term Nahal , meaning "river". Old Libyan has the term lilu , meaning water (in modern Berber ilel ⵉⵍⴻⵍ means sea ). With a total length of about 6,650 km (4,130 mi) between

15232-461: The penalties are inadequate. It has been estimated that container ships lose over 10,000 containers at sea each year (usually during storms). Ships also create noise pollution that disturbs natural wildlife, and water from ballast tanks can spread harmful algae and other invasive species . Ballast water taken up at sea and released in port is a major source of unwanted exotic marine life. The invasive freshwater zebra mussels, native to

15368-441: The potential to create hypoxic conditions by using all available oxygen. In the coast of southwest Florida, harmful algal blooms have existed for over 100 years. These algal blooms have been a cause of species of fish, turtles, dolphins, and shrimp to die and cause harmful effects on humans who swim in the water. Polluted runoff from roads and highways can be a significant source of water pollution in coastal areas. About 75% of

15504-559: The present course of the Nile in Egypt and Sudan. Rushdi Said postulates that Egypt supplied most of the waters of the Nile during the early part of its history. The other theory is that the drainage from Ethiopia via rivers equivalent to the Blue Nile, the Atbara and the Takazze flowed to the Mediterranean via the Egyptian Nile since well back into Tertiary times. Salama suggests that during

15640-456: The region of Lake Victoria and the Mediterranean Sea , the Nile is among the longest rivers on Earth. The drainage basin of the Nile covers 3,254,555 square kilometers (1,256,591 sq mi), about 10% of the area of Africa. Compared to other major rivers, though, the Nile carries little water (5% of that of the Congo River , for example). The Nile basin is complex, and because of this,

15776-548: The release of toxins there is an increase of noise, light, sediment le dan plumes and elements that have the potential to impact the ecosystems . Deep sea minerals (DSM) can be extremely beneficial, it can cause wealth, raising living standards as well as economic opportunities for both current and future generations. In addition, if the wealth is poorly managed it can have the potential to cause great economic and social damage . The instability of price and production levels of minerals can cause an external economic shock leading to

15912-661: The river is called Kiira or Kiyira . In Runyoro , it is called Kihiira . In Egyptian Arabic , the Nile is called en-Nīl , while in Standard Arabic it is called an-Nīl . In Biblical Hebrew , it is הַיְאוֹר ‎, Ha-Ye'or or הַשִׁיחוֹר ‎, Ha-Shiḥor . The English name Nile and the Arabic names en-Nîl and an-Nîl both derive from the Latin Nilus and the Ancient Greek Νεῖλος . Beyond that, however,

16048-591: The river south-west for over 300 km, following the structure of the Central African Shear Zone embracing the Bayuda Desert . At Al Dabbah it resumes its northward course towards the first cataract at Aswan forming the S-shaped Great Bend of the Nile mentioned by Eratosthenes . In the north of Sudan, the river enters Lake Nasser (known in Sudan as Lake Nubia), the larger part of which

16184-520: The riverbed sufficiently for the river to overflow westward into a depression to create Lake Moeris . Lake Tanganyika drained northwards into the Nile until the Virunga Volcanoes blocked its course in Rwanda. The Nile was much longer at that time, with its furthest headwaters in northern Zambia. The currently existing Nile first flowed during the former parts of the Würm glaciation period. Affad 23

16320-407: The scientific community and interest by other explorers keen to either confirm or refute Speke's discovery. British explorer and missionary David Livingstone pushed too far west and entered the Congo River system instead. It was ultimately Welsh-American explorer Henry Morton Stanley who confirmed Speke's discovery, circumnavigating Lake Victoria and reporting the great outflow at Ripon Falls on

16456-479: The sea directly from urban sewerage and industrial waste discharges, sometimes in the form of hazardous and toxic wastes , or in the form of plastics. In a study published by Science , Jambeck et al. (2015) estimated that the 10 largest emitters of oceanic plastic pollution worldwide are, from the most to the least, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Egypt, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Bangladesh. Inland mining for copper, gold, etc.,

16592-527: The sea level rose at the end of the most recent ice age , the stream which is now the northern Nile captured the ancestral Nile near Asyut . This change in climate also led to the current extents of the Sahara desert, around 3400 BCE. The Giza pyramid complex originally overlooked a branch of the Nile that no longer exists. This branch was highest during the African Humid Period . The existing Nile has five earlier phases: Flowing north from

16728-416: The sea level to rise by up to 59 cm in the worst of all considered scenarios by 2100. A 0.5-m rise in sea level would lead to estimated losses of land, installations, and tourism of more than US$ 32.5 billion in the Governorate of Alexandria alone, cutting off the city of Alexandria from the Delta. Another challenge is a possible decrease in the flow of the Nile, which will particularly hurt Alexandria as it

16864-527: The seas. Around 98% of this volume is created by land-based activities, with the remaining 2% being generated by sea-based activities. It is estimated that 19–23 million tonnes of plastic leaks into aquatic ecosystems annually. The 2017 United Nations Ocean Conference estimated that the oceans might contain more weight in plastics than fish by the year 2050. Oceans are polluted by plastic particles ranging in size from large original material such as bottles and bags, down to microplastics formed from

17000-526: The stomachs of turtles and seabirds, which have died because of the obstruction of their respiratory and digestive tracts . Ghost nets are also a problematic type of ocean plastic as they can continuously trap marine life in a process known as "ghost fishing". A study highlighted by the World Economic Forum warns that ocean plastic pollution could quadruple by 2050, with microplastics potentially increasing fiftyfold by 2100. The study highlighted

17136-427: The toxic chemicals that flow into Puget Sound are carried by stormwater that runs off paved roads and driveways, rooftops, yards and other developed land. In California, there are many rainstorms that runoff into the ocean. These rainstorms occur from October to March, and these runoff waters contain petroleum, heavy metals, pollutants from emissions, etc. In China, there is a large coastal population that pollutes

17272-404: The toxins are concentrated upward within ocean food chains . When pesticides are incorporated into the marine ecosystem , they quickly become absorbed into marine food webs . Once in the food webs, these pesticides can cause mutations , as well as diseases, which can be harmful to humans as well as the entire food web. Toxic metals can also be introduced into marine food webs. These can cause

17408-561: The urgency of addressing plastic pollution, which threatens marine biodiversity and could push some species to the brink of extinction. Ocean acidification is the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's ocean . Between 1950 and 2020, the average pH of the ocean surface fell from approximately 8.15 to 8.05. Carbon dioxide emissions from human activities are the primary cause of ocean acidification, with atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) levels exceeding 422 ppm (as of 2024 ). CO 2 from

17544-544: The western shores of the lake and flows at first to the west until just south of Masindi Port , where the river turns north, then makes a great half circle to the east and north to Karuma Falls . For the remaining part, it flows westerly through the Murchison Falls until it reaches the northern shores of Lake Albert where it forms a significant river delta. Lake Albert is on the border of the Democratic Republic of

17680-412: The whole ecosystem to eventually speak louder. According to the oceanographer Sylvia Earle , "Undersea noise pollution is like the death of a thousand cuts. Each sound in itself may not be a matter of critical concern, but taken all together, the noise from shipping, seismic surveys, and military activity is creating a totally different environment than existed even 50 years ago. That high level of noise

17816-480: Was 150% in that year. This was achieved although residential water tariffs in Egypt are among the lowest in the Middle East and North Africa: In 2012, for the first 10 m3 per month the residential water tariff was only Egyptian Pound 0.23/m3 (US$ 0.04) and for the second block until 30m3 it was Egyptian Pound 0.31/m3 (US$ 0.05), and for the third block until 45m3 it was EP 0.41/m3 (US$ 0.06). Unmeterd residential tariffs vary between 3.50 and 6.80 Pound per month depending on

17952-467: Was conducted by Odd Lindahl et al., using mussels in Sweden. Apart from plastics, there are particular problems with other toxic pollutants that either do not break down or only very slowly in the marine environment. Examples of persistent toxicants are PCBs , DDT , TBT , pesticides , furans , dioxins , phenols , radioactive waste , and PFAS . Heavy metals are metallic chemical elements that have

18088-512: Was enough to fill and connect them. The Egyptian Nile connected to the Sudanese Nile, which captures the Ethiopian and Equatorial headwaters during the current stages of tectonic activity in the Eastern, Central and Sudanese Rift systems. The connection of the different Niles occurred during cyclic wet periods. The Atbarah overflowed its closed basin during the wet periods that occurred about 100,000 to 120,000 years ago. The Blue Nile connected to

18224-582: Was even less understood. The ancients mistakenly believed that the Niger River represented the upper reaches of the White Nile. For example, Pliny the Elder writes that the Nile had its origins "in a mountain of lower Mauretania ", flowed above ground for "many days" distance, then went underground, reappeared as a large lake in the territories of the Masaesyli , then sank again below the desert to flow underground "for

18360-484: Was first introduced in 1982, and thought to have been transported to the Black Sea in a ship's ballast water. The population of the jellyfish grew exponentially and, by 1988, it was wreaking havoc upon the local fishing industry . "The anchovy catch fell from 204,000 tons in 1984 to 200 tons in 1993; sprat from 24,600 tons in 1984 to 12,000 tons in 1993; horse mackerel from 4,000 tons in 1984 to zero in 1993." Now that

18496-423: Was improved and internal performance benchmarking as well as a financial forecasting tool were introduced. The utility increased its compliance with Egyptian drinking water standards from 90% to 100%; customer satisfaction improved from 60% to 82%; non-revenue water was reduced from 38% to 30% and bill collection efficiency increased from 59% to 81%. Technical assistance provided by various donors ( USAID , GTZ and

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