>>13516492Counterpoint: that's not how dams work.
A dam doesn't actually reduce the flow of water by much at all, it's just an artificial lake. So while it's filling up, the flow into the river is reduced, but once it's full the amount of water flowing downstream is the same as it was before. In the case of Ethiopia, they're filling the reservoir gradually over a period of 10+ years, and only during the rainy season when downstream flow is high anyway.
That points you to an important benefit of dams: they regulate downstream flow and smooth out seasonal variations. With no reservoir, droughts and floods are just a matter of time. But with a large reservoir, they can be mitigated by lowering the reservoir when it's drier and filling it more when it's wetter. Dams are great, and it's no coincidence that Egypt has built their own dams on the Nile.
The meat of the diplomatic squabble isn't that Ethiopia is screwing Egypt, it's that Egypt is trying to tell Ethiopia what they're allowed to do within their own country. There are already treaties that say you can't restrict water to downstream nations, and Ethiopia is following them. Egypt is basically arguing that's not good enough, and because of what the dam COULD be used for they get the right to veto it. It's pretty bullshit.
