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DOI: 10.24850/j-tyca-15-01-08
Articles
Spacing hinterland water for Algiers city (Algeria)
Espaciando el agua del interior para la ciudad de Argel
(Argelia)
Tarek Medjadj1, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1148-4413
M'hammed Setti2
Lahcene Feloussia3
1University of M'sila, M'sila, Algeria, tarek.madjedj@univ-msila.dz
2University of Sciences and Technology of Algiers, Bab Ezzouar, Algeria,
settimhammed@yahoo.fr
3University of M'sila, M'sila, Algeria, lahcene.feloussia@univ-msila.dz
Corresponding author: Tarek Medjadj, tarek.madjedj@univ-msila.dz
Abstract
Of all the kinds of relationship, the one that links man with water is
considered as profound and serious in geographical surveys. Yet in the
past, the greatest threat to agriculture was a major problem, the attention
of people is now captured by water in cities. The increasing need of water
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in Algiers is due to the growth of population and urbanism. On the other
hand, there is a rise in water needs per capita. This problem didn't arise
during the last decades, but today the situation is no longer the same.
It's a considerable challenge for the capital Algiers, especially for the next
generations. Using a geo-history method, which consists in studying the
evolution of hinterland water space in time, we will direct our research
towards the exposure of the influences exerted by the increase of water
needs in the zone of study. The finality of the work is to identify the water
resources around the Algiers City and that arises from the spacing of
evolution hinterland water. We will obtain valuable information about the
extension, the distance of the hinterland water supplier from the city of
Algiers. The expected result of this work is to determine the hinterland
which can be counted on to supply the city of Algiers with drinking water
in the medium and long term. Finally, we can think of hydraulic planning
and development based on the principles of sustainable development.
This with the aim of proposing solutions to current problems and ensuring
the needs of future generations.
Keywords: Algiers, city, water, hinterland.
Resumen
De todos los tipos de relación, la que une al hombre con el agua se
considera como profunda y seria en los levantamientos geográficos. Sin
embargo, en el pasado, la amenaza para la agricultura era un gran
problema; pero la atención de la gente se centra ahora en el agua en las
ciudades. La creciente necesidad de agua en Argel se debe al crecimiento
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demográfico y urbanístico, al haber un aumento en las necesidades de
agua per cápita. Este problema no se planteó durante las últimas décadas,
pero hoy la situación ya no es la misma. Es un desafío considerable para
la capital Argel, especialmente para las próximas generaciones. Mediante
un método de geohistoria, que consiste en estudiar la evolución del
espacio hídrico en el tiempo, orientaremos nuestra investigación hacia la
exposición de las influencias ejercidas por el aumento de las necesidades
hídricas en la zona de estudio. La finalidad del trabajo es identificar los
recursos hídricos en torno a la ciudad de Argel y que se derivan del
espaciamiento de la evolución de las aguas del interior. Obtendremos
información valiosa sobre la extensión y la distancia de distribución de
agua desde el interior a la ciudad de Argel. El resultado esperado de este
trabajo es determinar el hinterland con el que se puede contar para
abastecer de agua potable a la ciudad de Argel a mediano y largo plazos.
Finalmente, se puede pensar en la planificación y el desarrollo hidráulicos
basados en los principios del desarrollo sostenible, a fin de proponer
soluciones a los problemas actuales y velar por las necesidades de las
futuras generaciones.
Palabras clave: Argel, ciudad, agua, traspaís.
Received: 11/02/2022
Accepted: 03/07/2022
Published online: 28/07/2022
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Introduction
During the last decade, climate change has been acknowledged as one of
the primary concerns of development on a local and regional scale, as
well as on an international scale. Precipitation in North Africa is likely to
decrease between 10 and 20 %, while temperatures are likely to rise
between 2 and 3 °C by 2050 (Schilling, Freier, Hertig, & Scheffran, 2012).
For the North African countries, in Algeria particularly, the question
of water supply is a big challenge for public authorities. It is among the
countries in Africa that suffer from water shortages. The rapidly growing
water demand in the Maghreb countries is forcing national authorities to
build more dams in order to increase the available water resources which
are naturally limited, and to face the strong temporal irregularity of
rainfall (Remini, 2009).
Most evident in this shortage is the suffering of urban residents’
communities to obtain safe drinking water. The capital (the largest city in
the Maghreb) was not more fortunate compared to other major cities in
this area, as it suffers from scarcity for two reasons: the first is due to a
large demographic growth, and the second is due to the increase in the
daily needs of water. In addition to the growing demography, 60 % of the
population resides in the northern range of Algeria, which represents one
tenth of the total area of the country. Furthermore, inadequate water
treatment due to a lack of appropriate technology, siltation of existing
dams and limited capacities for water storage hamper the decision-
making process (Boudjadja, Messahel, & Pauc, 2003).
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In 2008, although the rate of drinking water in the capital is close
to the full rate (100 %), that is, it is comparable to the rates of developed
countries more than the rates of countries that we usually compare
ourselves with, but the main problem that the city suffered from for many
years was an interruption due to the drying periods like this 3rd last year
(Figure 1). The drought recorded during the past four years has had no
equivalent, neither in duration nor in intensity over all the northern
regions of Algeria. The study of drought persistence, using Markov chains,
showed that, to have a non-dry year after a dry year, the probability is
greater in the centre of the country than in the west (Meddi & Meddi,
2009).
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Figure 1. The drought and drying periods in Algiers City (2020).
Otherwise, the problem also arises at the distance and spacing of
supply sources, in particular with the wave of drought that is hitting
northern Algeria. This led us to study the evolution of the remoteness of
the sources of water supply in Algiers with a view to remediating the water
crisis in this city in full growth. The water problem in the capital is a
perfect illustration of the arbitration conflicts between an area that
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requires and consumes a lot of water, without its own resources, and its
hinterland (Chikhr-Saïdi, 1997).
Our work is structured in title and subtitle bearing the different
fluctuations of the water hinterland of the Algiers city. The source of
supply is the only criterion used in the analysis of this functional space.
We started with an introduction to identify the problem of the
remoteness of the hinterland water. In the next section, we presented the
data collection method and the analysis tools used. The results were
presented in the form of diachronic titles according to the time of
evolution of the phenomenon studied by integrating the analyses resulting
from the field data. At the end, we concluded by proposing
recommendations to solve the water management problem first before
going to the technical problems.
Research method
The city of Algiers is located on LL: 36° 46′ 34″ North, 3° 3′ 36″ East
(Figure 2). It is the capital of Algeria and the most populous city in North
Africa with nearly 7 796 923 inhabitants according to data from the
national statistics office.
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Figure 2. Location map of Algiers city. Data source: World map,
consulted 12 May 2022, URL: http://www.carte-du-monde.net/pays-12-
carte-relief-algerie.html
The growth of Algiers accelerated from the 1970s, with the
consequences of the aggravation of the challenges in terms of housing,
equipment and urban services (Santos, 1971). Evidently, the drinking
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water supply is considered an urban service which must be provided by
the public authorities.
Using data of the National Water Resources Agency, we will make
an inventory from the water supply sources for the city of Algiers and its
hinterland to several periods. The beginning was from ottoman period and
then colonial and we have focused our analyses after independence
period.
Two types of qualitative methods were used, both of them are
complementary. The first consists in carrying out visits in-situ to a sample
of the dams. Secondly, we took this opportunity to make semi-direct
inquiries with those in charge of these plants and of the hydraulic sector
in particular. The objective of these surveys is to strengthen our analysis
by providing up to date information on the functioning of water transfer
operations from hinterland space to the city of Algiers. We also compared
the field data with those of official institutions to avoid all the agreed
discourse coming usually from public authorities and to look for the real
problems linked to the water supply in Algiers City.
Non-geographical methods are often used in the field of water
(Graillot, 1986) but they target the development of objectives adapted to
a parcel management of water and not in the case of a large scale. It is
for this reason that we have opted for the use of an analysis method based
on geo-referenced data integrated into a geographic information system
(GIS). GIS are means of presentation and interpretation of facts observed
on the earth's surface (Tomlin, 1990). The transformation of data by a
GIS aims to extract the implicit spatial relationships contained in the data
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origin (Lanter, 1992). The information obtained from field will be mapped
using GIS tools to modeling the distance and evolution of spacing the
hinterland water. Falcidieno, Pienovi and Spagnulo (1992) insist on the
need for a level of high abstraction to describe reality. We have used the
open source Qgis software for methodological considerations as well as
these spatial analysis capabilities. The difficulty of delineating the
hinterland is solved with the Buffer tool by fixing the centre of the city of
Algiers as a reference point. Subsequently, analyses were carried out by
draping the layers of water resources (wells, dams, wads). This allowed
us to identify results explaining the remoteness of the water hinterland.
But also, the excessive cost of 1 m3 of drinking water. This leads us to
think about strategic planning for the future with an adequate vision in
relation to existing reserves and constantly changing needs.
Direct hinterland: The supplied water until the
mid-1960s
It was the source of water until the mid-eighties in the seventeenth
century. Algiers was famous by having one of the best drinking water
supply networks in the Mediterranean basin. Thanks to the immigrants
coming from Andalusia, who applied high-level water transportation
techniques, the Ottoman leaders used them to establish four (4)
aqueducts deliver water from the heights city of Algiers (Ben Aknoun,
Bouzareah, Abyar) to the coast and centre city with a capacity of more
than two million liters per day (Raymond, 2014).
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The aqueducts of Algiers are not only the seat of a gravity flow to
the Roman, because they involve works whose function is closer to a flow,
which happens under pressure and mechanical control. This technique
suited to hilly lands has its origin in Constantinople and finds application
in Algiers (Kameche-Ouzidane, 2013). In addition to this network, the
capital had several public fountains, public wells and personal wells inside
homes (Figure 3).
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Figure 3. Direct hinterland water of Algiers City (before 1962).
Due to the effectiveness of this network, the French colonists used
it until 1866, and over to all these sources, the water element was
abundant in that period (Tvedt & Oestigaard, 2016). With the spatial
expansion and urban development that the city of Algiers witnessed
during the occupation, the French authorities intended to meet the
increasing demand for water to connect channels to bring water from the
Mzafran Basin (southwest) and from some wells spread in Mtijah plain
(south).
Algiers inherited this system after independence, and to say the
least, it met the daily needs of the capital's residents and their modest
horticultural and industrial activities. Until the mid-1980s, the city was
totally dependent for its water resources on the water of the underground
wells scattered in its south, direct hinterland.
After independence (1962): The inevitable
supply from the middle hinterland
The capital's residents witnessed a very difficult period in the early 1980s,
as the increase in demand for water coincided with a decrease in its
production, as many wells spread south of the city were unable to meet
the required quantities and everyone was eagerly awaiting the completion
of the new dam, which is about 35 km east of Algeria (Figure 4).
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Figure 4. Middle hinterland water of Algiers City (1990).
Here begins a new phase in the history of supplying the capital with
drinking water, which is the stage of bringing water from the middle
hinterland. The Kaddara Dam entered the production stage in 1987, and
citizens and officials were optimistic, and considered it as a radical
solution for the problem in Algiers. The dam, which is located on the
territory of the wilaya of Boumerdes (Figure 4), was built on the
Boudouaou Valley with a storage capacity of 145.6 million square meters,
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which is considered to be sufficient to cover the resident’s household
needs and their daily activities. In addition to the water of the valley on
which it is built, the water of valley Yasser favors to the Bani Omran Dam
and the water of valley-Al-Arbatash bring to the Al-Humayz Dam, which
has a capacity of 16 million m³ each. Starting from this date (1990), then,
the city became dependent on surface water mainly to supply it with
drinking water (55 %) according to the National Water Resources Agency.
Ten years have passed since the Kaddara Dam entered production
until the capital knew its first plan for the rescue. After years of drought
and after citizens thought that an era had passed, never to return. This
plan was approved in April 1997 and was in effect until 2008. During these
years the population experienced a great fluctuation in the distribution of
water. This depends on the fluctuation of the annual amount of
precipitation and the fullness of the dams: From 1 in 3 days (1997, 2000
and 2002) to 1 in 2 days (1998 and 1999) to a daily distribution (2003).
The responsibility for approving the rescue plan or raising it in the
capital based on the opinion of the state technical committee, which
studies all possibilities based on four elements: The amount of water
stored in the dam (Kaddara), the volume of well water, groundwater level,
and finally, future climatic conditions (precipitation).
In light of studying these variables, the technical committee decided
to provide residents of the capital with water daily, 1 day in 2 days, or 1
in 3 days, improving or reducing the timing of distribution (4, 8 or 12
hours per day).
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The relief plan was not raised due to the big difference between the
daily amount of water produced and the daily needs, which were
estimated at that time at 650 000 cubic meters. The residents of the
capital supply 1 day in 3 days if the amount of water produced per day
decreases within 360 000 m3, and to increase the distribution period to 1
day in 2 days, 450 000 m3 must be produced per day.
Approving the rescue plan of supply (2000)
Under the triple shock of drought, pollution, the spectacular growth of
needs resulting from the increase in population and urban growth, the
natural resource that we believed to be inexhaustible, available forever,
becomes a scarce economic good (Mutin, 2000). In the 2000s, Algiers
experienced a state of strong water stress: insufficient or impaired
sanitation and water distribution systems. There is no doubt that the
precipitation factor has a major role in the water balance. In the wake of
droughts that affected the region between 1990 and 1995, the water
reserve of Kaddara Dam fluctuated. Higher temperatures will produce
higher evaporation rates so increasing aridity even if precipitation stayed
the same (Sutton & Zaimeche, 1992).
The rescue plan is imposed only if the amount stored in the Kaddara
Dam falls below 70 million m³, which is less than half of its total storage
capacity. And what made the situation worse the amount of water
diverted to the main dam (Kaddara) decreased, and the number of
unlicensed wells in the region belonging to the agricultural and industrial
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sectors doubled, which negatively affected the production of the wells
supplied to the capital, especially in the Mtijah plain. However, most dams
are subject to a loss of capacity due primarily to three factors namely:
water leakage, the silting and evaporation intense (Abid, Benfetta, &
Khaldi, 2019). In addition to the precipitation factor, there was a
degraded situation characteristic of the city's distribution process, which
was the loss of huge quantities of water. So, 15 % of the produced
quantity is lost during conversion and 40 to 50 % of it is lost inside the
networks, bearing in mind that the acceptable average loss should not
exceed 15 to 20 %. Is it reasonable to allow such a quantity lost in a time
of scarcity? The outdated fashion of water conveyance and insufficient
storage capacity hinder the correct distribution of water to the consumers
(Kadi, 1997). The high level of extravagance shows the overwhelming
chaos that prevailed in the sector of water production and distribution and
its management in the city of Algiers, and this situation can be explained
by at least two reasons:
• Corruption of water distribution channels, as most of the distribution
networks are still those established by the colonizer (more than 60
years old). It must be noted here that the city inherited one of the
most complex distribution networks in the world, due to the severity
of the surface bending the passage of water through the channels
causes it to have strong pressure, which reflects negatively on it
over time. Algiers Water and Sanitation Company (SEAL), which ran
1 800 km of canals for 250 000 subscribers and it, recorded more
than 20 000 damages and water losses per year (Hamadache,
2021).
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• Bad management of the institutions in charge of water production
and distribution, and lack of rationality. These institutions have not
yet moved to scientific management methods which consider water
an economic commodity and a rare resource. It is subject to
effective and efficient management methods, and the best example
of this mismanagement is the great chaos that prevailed in the
pricing and water bills.
Aware of these challenges, the Algerian government decided in
2006 to raise the network's performance to the level of international
standards and to modernize the governance of water management in
Algiers. Today, the problem has not been resolved.
The summer of 2021 saw an unprecedented drinking water supply
crisis. Accessibility to this service is not fair for all the districts of Algiers.
Disturbances in the distribution have been noticed due to the low pressure
system which only reaches the 5th floor (Hamadache, 2021). Water has
become a dream for some neighborhoods. “Our dream is to see water
flowing through our taps” where a resident has expressed his need during
our field survey in summer 2021.
The future water resources of the capital
The technical studies prepared between the years of 1979 and 1980
showed that the water supply capacity of the latter to the residents of the
capital will become insufficient, starting from the 2000. The planners at
that time relied, in their studies of the prospects for the population and
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urban development, on the annual growth rate extracted from the period
between the 1966 and 1977 censuses, which was estimated at 5.56 %
(MEAT, 1997). Fortunately for the citizens, this rate has decreased
considerably since that date to stabilize within the limits of fewer than 2
% during the decade 1990-2000. This situation will expand if the program
is used to explore the resources of remote hinterland water, which has
become inevitable in the medium and long term. However, the extension
of agricultural land is linked with the water supply. In the beginning, the
irrigation was done from dams (gravity irrigation) and requires a large
amount of water but with the drought experienced by Algeria in the years
1970, 1989, 2000, the percentage of water intended irrigation was
decreasing and has been directed for supplying cities (Djaffar & Kettab,
2018).
Determine the field of the far hinterland
We cannot define and determine the distant hinterland (More than 70 km)
except within its natural water range. The hydrological characteristics of
the surface flow which have been taken into account are climatic
parameters and physical parameters (Touazi, Pierre-Laborde, & Bhiry,
2004). That is, through a basin or group of aquariums. In this context, a
quick comparison of the water basins surrounding the city of Algiers
(Figure 5) shows that the eastern and southeastern regions of the capital
are more fortunate than its western counterpart capital.
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Figure 5. Water basins surrounding Algiers City.
The large water basin providing the capital with drinking water in
the medium and long term was designated and defined his limit by an
implementing decree in August 1996 called Basin Algeria-Soummam-
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Hodna. It is one of 5-water basins covering the national territory (Table
1).
Table 1. Hydrological characteristics of the eastern and western basins
of the capital.
Sum water
resources
billions m3
Underground
water resources
billion m3
Surface water
resources
billion m3
Area
(km²)
The amount of
precipitation is
billion m3/year
Aquarium
4.920 0.620 Algeria - Yesser-
Spaw: 3.10 900 47 21.2
Algeria
Soumam
elhodna
2.245 0.245
Chlef-Dhahra:
1.70
Zhariz: 0.30
200 56 20.5
Chlef
Zahariz
Data source: National Agency of Water Resources.
This basin includes 12 million people (ONS, 2008) or 35 % of the
total population of the country. It administratively covers six wilayas
altogether (Algiers, Blida, Boumerdes, Tizi Ouzou, Bouira and Bordj Bou
Arreidj) and eight wilayas partially (Tipaza, Medea, Ain Defla, M'sila,
Djelfa, Bejaia, Setif and Batna. It represents in a group of 1 390 localities
divided into 491 municipalities. The amount of precipitation over the
entire basin reaches 2.21 billion m3 per year. While the total surface
running water is estimated at 4.3 billion m3. Underground water is also
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estimated at 0.6 billion m³. Part of the surface water is stored by 10 dams
with a capacity of 655 million m3. But they produce an annual average of
422 million m3, and four other dams are in the process of being built with
a storage capacity of 1.1 billion m3.
The capital's water future will be in its far hinterland
The authority responsible for supplying the capital with drinking water has
prepared an ambitious program in the medium and long term. In addition
to greater exploitation of the underground water located on the direct
front by the completion of 22 additional wells in the Mtijah plain, which
allowed the collection of an additional 50 000 m3 of water per day (Safar-
Zitoun, 2019).
In 2002, three dams located on the western side of Algeria were
linked between them by water delivery channels to the end of the capital,
to benefit from the surplus known by these dams, which are: Boukrdan
Dam: diverting 23 million m3 annually out of the 46 million m3 stored in
it. Gharib Dam: diverting 17 million m3 annually out of the 70 million m³
stored in it. Borumi Dam: diverting 9 million square meters annually out
of the 19 million cubic meters stored in it (MEAT, 1997).
This connection project allowed the city of Algiers to benefit from
58 million m3 annually without inflicting any shortage on the already-
increased population of the three dams. Increasing groundwater wells and
connecting nearby dams that have surplus water to the capital are
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nothing, but an emergency program set up to cover the recorded deficit.
As for the medium and long term, he was relying on three dams that were
programmed to supply the capital with drinking water, all of which are
located on the eastern side of its watery back. Two of them are located at
the far hinterland, and the third will be built at the middle Hinterland to
reinforce water-producing facilities (Figure 6).
Figure 6. Far Hinterland Water of Algiers City (2015).
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Taqsbat Dam was built at the far hinterland of the wad Issa in the
wilaya of Tizi Ouzou (100 km east of Algiers). This valley receives
rainwater from the Jarjara Hills, which flows into the Sebou plain then to
the Mediterranean Sea. Works began on it in 1993, but due to the bad
security conditions in this zone, the project was not completed until the
end of 2007 (Benbelkacem & Benallel, 2002). It did not enter the actual
production stage until March 2008. The storage capacity of this dam is
estimated at 175 million m3 and the amount that is supposed to be
transferred annually to the capital is 73 million m3 Koudia Asardoun Dam
which is located on the wilaya of Bouira at the middle hinterland of Algiers,
Work on this dam did not start until 2002 and was completed only in 2008.
Its storage capacity reaches 636 million m3, but the quantity that is
expected to be collected in it does not exceed 146 million m3 per year. It
is the second-largest dam in Algeria after the Bani Haroun Dam (Mila). He
shall not participate in supplying the capital until the year 2012, with an
annual amount estimated at 50 million m³ (Benbelkacem & Benallel,
2002). The rest is supplied by four other wilayas: Medea, Tizi Ouzou,
Bouira and M'sila.
Souk Nathleta Dam which will also be erected at the far hinterland
of wad Boukdoura in the municipality of Tadmit (Tizi Ouzou wilaya) with
a storage capacity of 150 million m3 (Hamadache, 2021). Due to the
problem of expropriation, the start of works in it was suspended until late
2011, provided that complete delivery of the project within the year 2015.
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This is the previous version of the limited-edition company to
purchase real estate in a planned program should be mentioned here. And
the water projects programmed for it on the hinterland distant from
drinking water.
To use the desalinated water
The periods of drought that Algeria has experienced in the last decade
have increased the rate of evaporation and the surface waters have
become insufficient to meet the needs of the populations of Algiers.
Government adopted several projects to rely on unconventional
water especially after the advancement of desalination in controlling the
price of the local liter. It has planned to establish 15 desalination plants
all over the national territory by the year 2015, to produce approximately
2.3 million m / day (Leila, 2021).
Thanks to that, the city of Algiers benefited from a desalination plant
in Hamma with a production capacity of 200 000 m3 / day (Leila, 2021).
Its lower hinterland also benefited at two stations in Ras Jannat and
Zeralda, its middle hinterland benefited from Fouka station (Map 5). After
the Hamma plant entered the production stage in 2008, the city of Algiers
won the battle of water after 11 years of trouble.
At that time, it was able to overcome the problem of fluctuation in
the distribution with the abundance of water 24h/24h in the faucets of
citizens. After that, the dependence on groundwater wells decreased to
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200 000 m3 / day after it had reached 650 000 m3/ day in 2006. In 2011,
only 175 productive wells remained. This allowed the level of groundwater
to rise greatly and renew its reserves in Mtijah (Hamadache, 2021). In
2021, a new emergency plan which provides for the strengthening of
desalinated water production capacity by building a unit with a capacity
of 250 000 m3/d in the capital (Algiers-Ouest), another in Cap Djenat
(Algiers-East) with a capacity of 400 000 m3/d. These new projects would
make it possible to "reduce by 72 % the use of surface water in the
capital" according to the director of water resources and hydraulic safety
of the wilaya of Algiers.
We observed an extension of the water hinterland towards the east
and the west after the commissioning of the desalination plants in 2008.
The drinking water supply for Algiers now comes mainly from these
stations located along the Algiers coast (Figure 7). This alternative has
given satisfactory results, providing a 24-hour service, but with
excessively expensive costs compared to the water grounds.
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Figure 7. Location of desalination plants in Algiers.
Challenges and opportunities: Comparison with
Mediterranean examples
Based on a comparative approach of Algiers with the other western south
metropolises of the Mediterranean Sea, we have contrasted the results
with the situation at the scale of this region which suffered under the
same climatic conditions. Table 2 shows the water hinterland extension
challenges and opportunities for the riparian cities of the western
Mediterranean basin.
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Table 2. Challenges and opportunities of water supply in western south
Mediterranean metropolis.
Western south
Mediterranean cities Challenges Opportunities
Algiers (Algeria)*
− The existence of non-renewable but poorly
exploited fossil subterranean waters.
− Water resources are subject to strong
temporal variability both seasonal and
interannual
− They are also unequally distributed
geographically and above all without
correspondence with the location of
demand
− Overexploited underground waters which
caused the phenomenon of marine
intrusion
− Use of non-conventional water
through the use of desalination (15
operational stations with a production
of around 2.5 million m3/d)
− An important reserve of unexploited
fossil waters
− The creation of the national agency
for the integrated management of
water resources (AGIR) to concretize
the reforms undertaken
Tunis (Tunisia)**
− The existence of non-renewable but poorly
exploited fossil subterranean waters
− Water resources are subject to strong
temporal variability both seasonal and
interannual
− They are also unequally distributed
geographically and above all without
correspondence with the location of
demand
− Overexploited underground waters which
caused the phenomenon of marine
intrusion
− Commitment to the implementation
of integrated water resources
management by implementing a set
of reforms to lay the foundations for
optimal, rational and sustainable
management of water resources
− Use of private companies in the
upkeep and maintenance of drinking
water transfer and supply networks
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Western south
Mediterranean cities Challenges Opportunities
Rabat (Morocco)***
− Phenomenon of marine intrusion
aggravated by the overexploitation of
groundwater for agricultural purposes
− Intense evaporation which leads to
considerable loss of surface water
− The existence of a large catchment
area in the hinterland of Rabat
− Favorable situation where the chain
of RIF constitutes a natural barrier
pure the climatic disturbances coming
from the ocean
− Generalization of the economical
irrigation technique (86 %)
*ANRH (2022), unexpected synthesis from this study
**BPEH (2013)
***Snoussi (2018)
The comparison between the metropolises of the southern shore of
the Mediterranean sea shows similar challenges, particularly between
Algiers and Tunis. Rabat has advantages related to precipitation where
this city has still not used unconventional water (desalination). The only
problem that risks the sustainability of this resource is the
overexploitation of water for agricultural purposes. Population growth,
rapid urbanization and economic development increase needs of water
supply while the resource is rare (Taabni & Moulay-Driss, 2012). However,
the hinterland still remains the reservoir to supply the three cities with
nuances and fluctuations depending on the periods of drought. Looking
ahead to 2100, climatology specialists predict a warming of 2.5 to 4.5°C
for the Maghreb countries compared to the temperatures recorded at the
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end of the 20th century (GIEC-IPCC, 2008). However, the consequences
will be harmful on the availability of resources due to the high rate of
vaporization and, certainly, the hinterland of water will have more
extension towards the most distant zones.
Conclusion
The question remains unanswered by those responsible for this sector:
the prospects that these water projects do not meet all the daily water
needs of the capital's residents. If the studies had been dropped at the
time of the onset of a water crisis within the limits of 2025, the
expectations that followed did not support the previous propositions,
especially, after the great decline in the pace of demographic and urban
growth in the country and in particular, the saturation of space that the
capital knows.
At the end of this work, some points that we see are very sensitive
in managing the water sector, particularly in Algiers, to save from severe
future crises. It’s important to invest in the renewal of supply channels in
order to reduce the high loss rate However, it is not efficient to invest
large sums of money in large projects without adjusting to the problem
of wasting almost half of the water. In addition, we propose to reconsider
the pricing applied, which is new, so that it is applied to those who waste
water resources, and we do not equate the economizer with the waster.
To avoid technical and management problems in the future it is
necessary to consider a new water policy as part of the urban
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development services. It is important to develop residential communities
close to water sources to attract residents towards it, instead of
transporting water long distances to meet their daily needs. There is no
doubt that this strategy would not solve the problem in the long term
where the complexity and size of the city of Algiers will not be that of
today. Therefore, the sustainability of water resources must be considered
for any reflection related to the planning and management of this rare
resource. In addition to being economical, it will keep our major cities
from serious water crises in the future. Finally, it should be noted that the
best investment in the field of water is to educate citizens in the first place
to rationalize consumption and combat extravagance using all available
media (audio, visual and print), for the same purpose. In addition, the
municipalities and local groups, thanks to their water policies, scientific
clubs, neighborhood associations and various citizens' associations, are
the ones that best fit into this framework.
We can also conclude the relationship between the spacing of
hinterland water and the scarcity of superficial water, especially in the
case of the unavailability of non-conventional water (fossil water,
desalination) and drought period.
Certainly, we have proposed solutions for the problem of removal
from the hinterland of water. Nevertheless, our study has its limits
because the analyzes carried out only concern the city of Algiers,
excluding the problem of water, which must be dealt with in a broader
framework on a regional or even national scale.
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This work is based on official data from the national water resources
agency, combined with quantitative and qualitative field data. In fact, it
could be broadened in perspective for other cities to delimit the zones of
probable extension of the hinterlands of waters and the delimitation also
of the overlapping areas.
The use and exploitation of the results of this work by decision-
makers or in the context of future research is a great satisfaction for us.
The contribution will undoubtedly be positive for the improvement of the
quality of life of the population of Algiers.
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