Is Ethiopia taking control of the River Nile?

Story highlights Ethiopia is building Africa's largest dam -- the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Situated on the Blue Nile, the dam could threaten Egypt's water supply Already facing water shortages, Egypt is desperate to maintain its dominance of the River Nile CNN — Look at Egypt on Google Earth and you will see a green line snaking through a sand-colored landscape, fanning out into a triangle in the north. Ethiopia’s very big dam The Blue Nile River is the Nile’s largest tributary and supplies about 85% of the water entering Egypt. “It is generally believed that Egypt received such favorable terms … because the country was very important to the United Kingdom’s agricultural interests, particularly its cotton fields,” says John Mukum Mbaku, professor of economics at Weber State University in Utah and co-author of “Governing the Nile River Basin.” The Blue Nile Falls -- located near the river's source, Lake Tana in Ethiopia. “The Nile River Basin’s upstream riparian states argue that the Nile Waters Agreements are unfair, inequitable and unsustainable,” says Mbaku.