Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation is expanding a digital spatial monitoring system designed to detect encroachments and violations affecting waterways, water infrastructure and ministry-administered land at an early stage, as part of efforts to strengthen digital oversight and governance.
Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Hani Sewilam said the Spatial Changes Monitoring System has already been activated at several of the ministry’s central departments across the governorates, with work underway to extend it to the remaining departments and eventually cover all areas under the ministry’s jurisdiction.
Speaking during a meeting to review the system’s operation, Sewilam said expanding the use of digital and spatial monitoring technologies would help establish a modern water management system based on accurate and regularly updated data.
The initiative forms part of the ministry’s “Water 2.0” strategy and aims to accelerate decision-making and enable authorities to respond rapidly when changes are detected.
The system is designed to shift monitoring from traditional methods towards continuous digital surveillance, allowing authorities to identify new encroachments, violations and other spatial changes and pinpoint their locations at an early stage.
This would enable ministry departments to intervene before violations expand or become more difficult to address, while also allowing officials to track the measures taken in response to each detected case.
The platform will also provide an updated spatial database to support planning and decision-making, while linking digital monitoring results with field inspections.
According to the ministry, the system is expected to improve the management of its assets and land while strengthening the protection of waterways and water infrastructure against illegal encroachments and unauthorised uses.
Sewilam instructed officials to complete the system’s rollout across all central departments and areas under the ministry’s jurisdiction, while continuously assessing its performance and enhancing the use of its data for monitoring, oversight and governance.
