>The ancient Egyptians, just as they do today, get drinking water from the Nile.

Thanos5150,

The Govenment and Health agencies discourage people to "not" drink the Nile water. What part of that do you not understand?

[www.nytimes.com]

But what brings life to the Nile Delta also brings its curse: the water-borne parasite that causes bilharzia, a disease that infects 1 Egyptian in 12 and which has proven all but impossible to escape in villages like Bataina.

Once a month rural health officials borrow the loudspeakers of the village mosques to summon those thought to be most at risk. They are then tested in an effort to arrest the spread of the disease before it is too late. The posters that adorn countless village walls depict in graphic terms the points in a cycle in which carelessness can lead to re-infection.

Additionally, it contains minerals which are not good for you. 

And, there you go again. I would stop that practice if I were you.