History from Below: On Cairo’s Water and Sewage

The privatization of water in Cairo has a long history dating back to the mid-nineteenth century. But how did this reshape power and sovereignty over one of the city’s most vital resources? The city’s water supply network dates to 1865, when the Cairo Water Company was founded by a group of French and local investors who held considerable sway within governmental circles. Through this influence, the company secured a 99-year concession. Its operations expanded significantly, but by the 1930s it faced growing legal and political challenges, as public opinion turned against it and other major foreign-capital monopolies—such as the Suez Canal Company and utilities in gas, electricity, and tram services. The water company was nationalized in 1957, a year after the nationalization of the Suez Canal, as part of the Nasserist regime’s strategy to dismantle the economic legacies of colonialism.

Meanwhile, the city’s sewage network was established in 1915 by the Egyptian government under British occupation, followed over two decades of study and planning. This extended preparatory phase primarily reflects the economic considerations at play, as sewage systems were among the most expensive modern technologies at the time. The project’s total cost reached 2.3 million Egyptian pounds—roughly equivalent to the cost of the Aswan Low Dam (constructed in 1902), which then was the largest irrigation project of its kind in Egypt.

This lecture explores Cairo’s history between the mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries through a focused lens: the management and distribution of water resources. During this period, the Egyptian capital witnessed a dramatic transformation in water provision and consumption, due to the development of modern distribution and drainage systems. These changes had far-reaching impacts on the daily lives of Cairenes and on the urban planning of new neighborhoods. They also deeply influenced the political economy of these essential services. The transformation was powerful enough to dismantle long-standing systems of water supply that had endured for centuries—leading to the disappearance of the traditional water carrier (saqqa), and the decline of communal water services once provided by mosques, public fountains (sabils), and bathhouses.

Shehab Ismail is a historian specializing in the modern Middle East. His research focuses on the history of science and technology, environmental and urban history, and the history of economic thought. He earned his PhD in History from Columbia University (New York, USA). In 2020, he launched the website Al-Madaq and co-edited the book We Buy Everything (al-Maraya Publishing, 2022) with Yahia Shawkat. He is currently preparing to publish his first book, The Economy of Pipes: Engineering Modern Cairo’s Water, forthcoming soon.

** This lecture is free for the public but requires registration and will be conducted in Arabic. It is organized in collaboration with the Ecologies of Cities module as part of the BIAS-AME Diploma program.