GERD to begin 3rd filling within a week

An Egyptian expert revealed that the third filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) actually began on July 11, and its storage quantities have now reached 2 billion cubic meters of water.

Dr. Abbas Sharaki, Professor of Geology at Cairo University, said, “The satellite images, taken Saturday, reveal that the level of the Renaissance Dam lake has risen to 585 meters above sea level, 12 days after the start of storage.

He pointed out that during that period about 2 billion cubic meters were stored, and about one billion cubic meters were passed to each Sudan and Egypt through the two drainage holes.

Satellite images of the filling process

The Egyptian expert expected 3 billion cubic meters of water to be stored during the next two weeks due to the increase in rain.

He confirmed that the water will pass over the dam from the middle passage, at the end of the first week of August.

He indicated that after the end of this year, Ethiopia will have stored about 12 billion or 13 billion cubic meters of water.

 A satellite image, taken last Monday, confirmed that Ethiopia had finished storing the first billion in the third filling of the Renaissance Dam,

At the beginning of last June, satellite images revealed that the Ethiopian authorities are continuing to elevate the middle passage in the dam and empty some other dams in preparation for the flood season and storage.

The dam raises a crisis between the three countries, Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia, as Egypt and Sudan demand a legally and technically agreed timetable for filling, operating, and sharing the dam’s data.

Egypt & the negotiating option

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi affirmed that Egypt made the negotiating option in the Renaissance Dam file based on the ruling constants to seek to find a common vision between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia.