The High Dam

Construction began in 1960. The High Dam, an embankment dam, was completed on July 21, 1970, with the first stage finished in 1964. The reservoir began filling in 1964 while the dam was still under construction and first reached capacity in 1976.

The Aswan High Dam is 3,830 m in length, 980 m wide at the base, 40 m wide at the crest and 111 m in height. It contains 43 million m³ of material. At maximum, 11,000 m³ of water can pass through the dam every second. There are further emergency spillways for an extra 5000 m³ per second and the Toshka Canal links the reservoir to the Toshka Depression. The reservoir, named Lake Nasser, is 550 km long and 35 km at its widest with a surface area of 5,250 km² and holds 111 km³.

The dam powers twelve generators each rated at 175 megawatts, producing a hydroelectric output of 2.1 gigawatts. 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 use electricity for the first time. The dam mitigated the effects of dangerous floods in 1964 and 1973 and of threatening droughts in 1972–73 and 1983–84. A new fishing industry has also been created around Lake Nasser.

Water flowing in excess of the highest water level in front of the Dam is being disposed through a spillway on the west bank of the Nile, at a disposal capacity of 2,400 cubic metre/second, in addition to the Toshki spillway, which was used for the first time during the 1996 flood season, when the water level at Lake Nasser exceeded 178 m. A part of the increase is also disposed through the electric power station.

To ensure control of the safety of the High Dam, a collection of instruments and marks were established to measure vertical settlement, horizontal movements and internal pressures, in addition to a barometer grid at varying depths and levels to gauge leakage. The High Dam Authority is in charge of the control of the Dam, the conducting of research and studies, periodic monitoring operations for the body of the Dam and the surrounding area as well as the implementation of projects necessary for maintaining the safety of the Dam.

Effects of the High Dam Project

• Basin irrigation was converted into perennial irrigation. Arable area was increased from 5.8 million feddans to 7.8 million feddans.
• Crop area was increased from 9.3 million feddans to about 14 million feddans.
• Potential expansions in the cultivation of such water-intensive crops as rice and sugar-cane.
• Protecting the country against floods and droughts.
• Providing the electricity necessary for industrial development as well as rural electrification, at a total capacity of 10 billion kw/h/year.
• Improving Nile navigation and cruise conditions.
• Developing fish-wealth - about 40,000 tons of fish a year are produced in Lake Nasser.
• Contributing to the increase in national income.