Nile turns murky

Cairo residents awoke yesterday to find the river Nile had turned from blue to murky brown.

Experts said the change in the colour of the water, and the sand banks that appeared around it, was due to the floods and high winds which Egypt experienced last week. Some 60 million cubic metres of rainwater fell in Egypt last week killing 18 people and injuring 72.

Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of Egypt Mohamed Abdul Muttalib said this would not pollute the Nile’s water and that throughout history the river collected water from its tributaries especially during floods.

Officials say the murky water, now loaded with silt, forced the closure of several main water treatment stations. That has caused the disruption of water supplies in some areas.

Murky brown waters of the Nile [Arab48]