or 6% but the losses are up to 50% >>reporter: all told, 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