An analytical model for assessing alternative water lifting systems in Egypt, designed for use by policymakers, is presented. The procedure computes the cost of lifting water from tertiary delivery canals to farmers' fields on the basis of a combination of 23 variables: economic factors, such as prices for energy, machines and repairs, and food; technical factors, such as state of the art and innovations in machines, energy sources, pumps, and methods of production; and political factors, such as government policies on energy prices, agriculture, and taxes. Following a detailed description of these variables and their computation, the model is illustrated with cost curves for sakias (animal-powered pumps), diesel pumps, and electric pumps using data sets from two sources, Menoufia University and the Egypt Water Use and Management Project (EWUP); the cost curves are then tested for sensitivity by changing the value of individual variables. These examples arrive at contradictory conclusions for policymaking: the Menoufia data favor the electrification of pumping systems, while the EWUP data suggest use of the traditional sakia pumping system. Because the model allows the user to assign values to the variables, its use in assessing irrigation alternatives is recommended.