Engineer Ahmed Gaber, President of the Alexandria Drinking Water Company, said that the Mahmoudia Axis development project contributed to strengthening the drinking water system in Alexandria, and that as a development project it does not only include the construction of roads, bridges, and new residential and production areas, but it contributed to the development of 3 drinking water stations, including projects It was first developed 100 years ago

- How did the Mahmoudiyah Axis Development Project help develop the drinking water system in Alexandria?

The Mahmoudiyah Axis Development Project is primarily a development project that does not only include the construction of new roads, axes, bridges, and residential, urban, and productive areas, but in addition to that, this project has allowed the development of 3 drinking water stations to give the highest productivity suitable for the new expansions, which are the Nozha, Furn al-Jaraya, and Sharq stations. All water lines on both sides of the Mahmoudiyah Canal over a distance of 50 km were replaced and renewed with pipes with diameters ranging from 700 mm to 100 mm, in addition to laying 18 km of new pipes.

- What about the project to strengthen the Moharam Bey sewage house?

The project to strengthen the Muharram Bey siphon, which feeds the Sharq drinking water station, was one of the most important projects that the development of the Mahmoudiyah Canal made possible to implement, because this siphon is 100 years old, as it was specifically constructed in 1920, and it passes under the Mahmoudiyah Canal, and therefore any breakage that occurred in it would have been It is difficult to deal with, and when the development of the canal began, it was an opportunity to replace and renew this culvert and reinforce it from the inside with a concrete cover, which contributes to increasing its lifespan for more than the next 50 or 60 years, in addition to protecting it from any loads or pressures, in addition to the fact that drinking water was It leaks into the Mahmoudiyah Canal, and does not reach the Sharq Drinking Water Station, which results in water being weak or cut off from the residents of this area, because the siphon is not supported by a concrete cover, and it is difficult to deal with it because it is located below the canal. These are all problems that have been avoided now, after the recent development. .

- What is the size of the increase in the production of drinking water stations after the completion of the Mahmoudiyah axis work?

The Sharq drinking water station increased its production capacity from 420 thousand cubic meters of water per day to 310 thousand cubic meters of water per day. The productivity of the Nuzha drinking water station also increased from 100 thousand cubic meters per day to 200 thousand cubic meters per day. The production capacity of the “Furn Al-Jaraya” station also increased. From 20 thousand cubic meters of water per day to 50 thousand cubic meters of water per day.

- How will this increase in water production be distributed to various projects, whether residential, production, or others?

This increase will contribute to the quality of water distribution management and dealing with various cases of water interruption. There are agricultural projects in Alexandria on an area of 18 thousand acres, to which this additional water productivity will be extended, in addition to urban and development projects in the areas of Carrefour, the airport, and Bashaer Al-Khair 2 and 3, and to confront any cases of shortage. Or the weakness of water and making an account for any future expansions, in addition to the fact that the new lines of pipes that were extended on the sides of the canal for a distance of 18 kilometers enable many maneuvers to be carried out, in the event of a water outage. For example, if water is cut off for the residents of a certain area due to the cessation of the station that supplies it. This area, I can maneuver and deliver water to them through another nearby station, because the new pipes that were built on the sides of the canal have connected all the stations in the area within one system, ready to compensate for the shortage or interruption, so any station can go through the other next to it, and this This was not available before, due to its need for new pipes that were constructed on the sides of the canal, in addition to the fact that an emergency line was established to repair the Muharram Bey culvert, which was built under the Mahmoudiyah Canal, to ensure speed and ease of handling and repair of any malfunctions immediately, which means ease of facing any outages. Water is one of the most prominent problems that the residents of the region were suffering from.

- How was the drinking water system in the region affected by the illegal buildings on the Mahmoudiyah Canal previously?

Illegal construction is the first enemy of facilities and infrastructure, and any irregular construction for any water company is the biggest challenge facing it. Illegal construction withdraws large quantities of water in violation of the lack of meters, which increases water consumption abnormally. If, for example, there is a licensed building It consumes one meter of water per day, while the violating building consumes 5 meters in return.

Therefore, the illegal construction in the area led to severe pressure on the area’s stations and pipes, which did not satisfy all these daily needs, because if there was a water pipe with a certain diameter, and a water station operating with a certain production capacity, to serve a specific population, then any illegal construction would lead to an increase in The number of residents in the area, without the presence of an infrastructure of pipes and stations with a production capacity sufficient to meet the needs of this number of residents of the illegal buildings, this will naturally result in broken pipes, weakness, and water interruptions.

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