Denied its annual soil building as a result of the Aswan Dam, the Nile delta is at risk from sea advance and erosion. Sand bars and coastal lagoons which form the main defence against the sea are being breached. The former coastal village of Borg-el-Borellos is now two kilometres out to sea. Rising sea levels would hasten the destruction -- a rise of one metre over the next century would inundate the northern one-third of the delta, affecting 15% of Egypt's farmland and 8 million people. Before that, the rising sea would salinize the groundwaters beneath the farmlands, accelerating the current salinization of soil which has resulted from the cessation of flood flushing and its replacement by canal irrigation.