Chapter Three On Irrigation Flood The year began with irrigation prospects not looking good. The Nile level at Halfa on January 1st was thirty centimeters below its average for previous years. The falling levels continued until mid-March, after which there was a slight improvement. The Nile maintained its level until June 10th, when it reached 12.50 meters.

On June 10th, the annual flood began to rise above the banks. This was followed by a ten-day recession. However, it was narrow and late, and July passed without significant improvement.

The people's fears that the August flood would be similar to the floods of the preceding seven years were realized. The increase in mid-August was very small and remained so until the end of the flood. The recession that followed the flood was normal. However, the falling levels at the end of the year do not inspire confidence in irrigation during the summer of 1908.

It can be said that last year's flood was one of the worst known, whether in terms of the level reached at Aswan or the duration for which the Nile level was below average.

The situation improved slightly in the third week of September. However, this relief was short-lived, and the prospects for basin irrigation were grim. The maximum levels in Aswan, which were almost as bad as the four worst recorded floods, show that the flood of 1908 was one of the worst known. This flood caused widespread famine in Egypt, leading to severe hardship and great losses in livestock and crops. The area of land left unirrigated was 140,000 feddans, which is 15.1% of the cultivated area, according to official statistics.

From our experience with bad floods, we know that a large amount of land is left half-irrigated, meaning it did not receive sufficient water. However, its owners paid the full irrigation fees. These lands were not mentioned in official reports at the time because they were considered to have received some water.