Influences of the filling phases of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile River's downstream reservoirs

Within the Nile River Basin (NRB; area: 3.4 × 106 km2), the Nile River (length: 6.6 × 103 km) flows from south to north in Northeast Africa. The Blue Nile is the main source of surface water for Egypt, providing over 80% of the country's allocation and serving as the source of 90% of Egypt's freshwater resources, which are used to sustain a population of more than 104 million people. In April 2011, Ethiopia began the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile. The GERD is planned to generate more than 6 gigawatts of clean electricity (Gebreluel, 2014).