Egypt groundwater non-renewable, very deep: Cairo

Groundwater is non-renewable in Egypt, and it lies very deep below the land surface, Egyptian Irrigation Minister Hani Swailem said on Friday.

"Groundwater in Egypt is non-renewable and located at great depths, so it is either impossible to reach it, or it is expensive to pump it up, or the water is very salty and unusable," he said in a statement.

The minister noted that a lot of work was needed to improve Cairo's assessment and protection of water resources from underground reservoir-dependent ecosystems.