, according to the president of the arab water council the plans could drastically improve efficiency. >>abu-zeid: the potential savings on the programme of water measurement which we started averages between 20 to 30 per cent. >>reporter: analysts argue that the introduction of water saving devices could make a significant difference. one study, in alexandria, has shown how much could be saved. >>abu-zeid: we are looking at least 20% in the current demand this could be achievable at the current assessments that we are working on. >>reporter: yet despite all its conservation efforts the country will still need to find more water. one route is desalination - which already plays a role. >>abu-zeid: if you look at the tourism sector in egypt in south sinai, the red sea resorts all of these are actually using desalination for their main water supply >>reporter: ten more desalination plants are planned and the hope is that desalinated water will eventually provide ten per cent of the country's needs. yet another problem egypt needs to address though is the demands from the other up stream