It
flooded much of lower Nubia and over 90,000
people were displaced. With hydroelectric
output of 2.1 gigawatts, the dam holds
twelve generators each rated at 175 megawatts.
Power generation began in 1967. When the
dam first reached peak output it produced
around half of Egypt's entire electricity
production (about 15% by 1998) and allowed
for the connection of most Egyptian villages
to electricity for the first time. The
effects of dangerous floods in 1964 and
1973 and of threatening droughts in 1972–73
and 1983–84 were mitigated. A new
fishing industry has been created around
Lake Nasser, though it is struggling due
to its distance from any significant markets.
In addition to the benefits, however,
damming the Nile caused a number of environmental
issues. The silt which made the Nile region
fertile is instead held at the dam, leading
to (expected) silting of the reservoir,
which will eventually (an estimated 500
years) render Lake Nasser useless for
water storage volume.
There
is some erosion of farmland down-river.
Erosion of coastline barriers, due to
lack of new sediments from floods, will
eventually cause loss of the brackish
water lake fishery that is currently the
largest source of fish for Egypt, and
the subsidence of the Nile Delta will
lead to inundation of northern portion
of the delta with seawater, in areas which
are now used for rice crops. The delta
itself, no longer renewed by Nile silt
has lost much of its fertility. The red-brick
construction industry, which used delta
mud, is also severely affected. There
is significant erosion of coastlines (due
to lack of sand, which was once brought
by the Nile) all along the eastern Mediterranean.
The need to use artificial fertilizers
supplied by international corporations
is controversial too, causing chemical
pollution which the traditional river
silt did not.
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