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Habitat International
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Article history: Algiers, the capital city of Algeria, experienced in the past years, recurrent water shortages due to
Received 27 December 2015 rampant population growth, coupled with the relative scarcity of water resources in this Mediterranean
Received in revised form city. The current supply system, despite improvements that have occurred since then, still shows
25 July 2016 -vis a number of factors. Indeed, cyclical droughts, that signicantly reduce the intake
vulnerability vis-a
Accepted 17 September 2016
of surface water, affect the region. Over-exploitation of groundwater has led to the phenomenon of
seawater intrusion, when not mastered, can make these aquifers unusable. Water resources are also
prone to pollution that threatens water potability. To analyze the balance between water supply and
Keywords:
Algiers water issue
domestic demand, we will use the concept of water resources carrying capacity (WRCC). The latter can be
Water demand/supply balance dened as the level of human activity that can be withstood by the available water resources without
Indicators major degradation of aquatic environments while maintaining an adequate standard of living. Action
Carrying capacity assessment must be carried out simultaneously on the determinant factors of supply and demand which are of social,
economic and environmental nature. The objective of this study is to assess the population that can be
sustained with regard to water resources and domestic consumption patterns. Water demand consid-
eration as much as on supply is of critical importance to reduce water supply vulnerability in a country
with limited fresh water resources.
2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2016.09.006
0197-3975/ 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
52 M. Naimi Ait-Aoudia, E. Berezowska-Azzag / Habitat International 58 (2016) 51e58
without major degradation of aquatic environments while main- SAA (Se curisation de l'Alimentation en eau d'Alger e in service in
taining an adequate standard of living. Water resources carrying 2002) and TAKSEBT (in service in 2008). In addition, the desali-
capacity assessment allows giving the maximum population sup- nation option was implemented. Desalinated water mainly comes
ported under individual water requirements. The assessment de- from two plants located in El Hamma (in service in 2008) and
pends on various parameters related to water demand and supply. Fouka (in service in 2011). The water supply system is shown in
Intensive research has been carried out in this direction especially Fig. 1.
in areas with a negative gap between water supply and demand of For water consumption estimation, we will follow the meth-
the population (Feng, Zhang, & Luo, 2008; Li, Guo, & Chen, 2000; Li, odology of Shiklomanov (1998), (2000) and Shiklomanov and
Wei, & Lu, 2010; Song, Kong, & Zhan, 2011; Liu & Chen, 2007; Ming, Rodda (2003) that assesses water withdrawals by sector taking
2011; Liu, 2012; Potter & Darmame, 2010; Zhongmin, 1999). Pro- into account water use for domestic, industrial and agricultural
jected climate change scenarios for freshwater resources attracted sectors. The structure of water, which shows water distribution by
great attention (Kundzewicz et al., 2008). A general review on sector is expressed as (a: b: g) where a, b and g are the percentages
water demand and supply and adaptation to climate change to of water allocation to domestic, industrial and agricultural sectors
mitigate the negative effects is given by Olmstead (2014). Pingale, respectively.
Mahesh, and Deepak (2014) studied the optimum allocation of Water structure has undergone considerable changes during the
water to satisfy the demands of different users under different two last decades. Indeed, in the period 1999 to 2002, the amounts
climate change scenarios. allocated to Algiers by sector were 49,900,000 m3 for domestic use,
Algeria is generally classied as semi-arid country affected by 26,900,000 m3 for industrial use and 87,000,000 m3 for agricul-
water stress. According to the United Nations Organization FAO. tural use (UNEP, 2004), (UNEP, 2005). Hence, the water structure
(2015), Algeria has a natural water supply below 500 cubic me- was (30:17:53) showing that the agricultural sector constituted the
ters per capita per year and is considered in absolute scarcity most important part. The current water supply system being
referring to Falkenmark classication (Falkenmark & Lundqvist, operational in 2011, allocation by sector during a year considered
1998). Among Algeria cities, Algiers, the political and economic normal in terms of rainfall is: 226,900,000 m3 for domestic use,
capital, suffered from severe water scarcity due to several factors. 122,200,000 m3 for industrial use and 96,600,000 m3 for agricul-
The most important ones are recurrent droughts conditions and tural use (Naimi-Ait-Aoudia & Berezowska-Azzag, 2014b) which
high pressure on resources, due to a fast population growth. By yields (51:27:22) as water structure. Modication in the water
2025, Algiers population will be around 4 millions (UNDESA, 2012). structure can be explained by several factors, including population
To resolve this problematic, the Algerian government launched growth, increased industrialization and willingness of government
major infrastructure projects consisting of new dams and desali- to favor domestic consumption (Mozas & Ghosn, 2013).
nation plants. A signicant improvement was observed, and the Carrying capacity concept focuses primarily on domestic needs
population experiences a relative comfort in water consumption due to the fact that health and well-being of people depend on
during recent years. Nevertheless the current system, completed in adequate water consumption that must be above the sanitary
2011, has not yet faced droughts. Moreover, due to overexploitation, threshold of 100 L per capita per day recommended by WHO
groundwaters are threatened with depletion and seawater (2011).
intrusion.
In this paper, we will focus on Algiers water resource carrying 3. Water resource carrying capacity
capacity assessment to determine the population that can be
adequately supported vis-a -vis water resource issue. The assess- 3.1. Carrying capacity conceptual framework
ment focuses on the water demand and supply factors. The ef-
ciency of water use depends upon improving the supply and The Carrying capacity of a given area stands for the maximum
rational patterns consumption of users. number of population that can be sustained through the use of
The assessment is made focusing on determinant factors con- available resources which can be brought to that region. The
cerning both the demand for and supply of water. The efciency of maximum borne population relative to a given constraint is
water use depends upon improving the supply and rational pat- assessed using the objective formulation of the German geographer
terns consumption of users. The ultimate aim is to devise measures Penck (1925). Originally, this formulation was used to determine
to meet adequate satisfaction of the current and the future popu- the maximum population that can be fed taking into account
lation in terms of water needs without signicant climatic condi- available food resources. Thereafter this equation was generalized
tions dependence. The remainder of the paper is organized as to consider resources other than foodstuffs (Cohen, 1995; Oh, Jeong,
follows. We give in section 2 an overview of Algiers current water Lee, Lee, & Choi, 2005).
supply system. Water resources carrying capacity assessment is Based on these works, we dened the conceptual framework of
given in section 3. Section 4 is devoted to discussion. Conclusions water resources carrying capacity assessment system shown in
are given in section 5. Fig. 2. Input parameters for assessing the water resources carrying
capacity of a given region are of two types: the level of individual
2. Water supply system consumption according to given standards and water availability.
Service level and water supply depend each on several determinant
The current water system relies on three sources of water: factors or key indicators.
ground water, surface water and desalination. Historically, Algiers In our case study, the following indicators of water supply have
was mainly supplied with water from aquifers. This explains the been identied: 'climatic year type', 'exploitation rate of ground-
extensive use of these waters. Algiers groundwater relies on water resources', 'surface water mobilization rate', 'desalination
aquifers that are Mitidja and the Sahel Dunes. During the 1970s, capacity', 'loss rate in adduction network', 'loss rate in the distri-
this millenary source was not enough to cover the basic needs of bution network', 'water reuse rate' and 'water structure'. On the
the inhabitants. Several dams have been built to increase the ca- other hand, key indicators for individual water consumption are:
pacity of the water supply system. Algiers is also now supplied households' average size, water expenditure in household budget,
with freshwater by three systems of water transfer referred to as: percentage of households with water-saving devices and percent-
me de Production Isser-Keddara e in service in 1987),
SPIK (Syste age of homes using rainwater (Ouyang, Wentz, Ruddell, & Harlan,
M. Naimi Ait-Aoudia, E. Berezowska-Azzag / Habitat International 58 (2016) 51e58 53
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Very dry Dry Normal Wet Very wet
Fig. 8. Water resource carrying capacity set 1 simulations. Fig. 9. Water resource carrying capacity set 2 simulations.
policy in infrastructure mobilization of water to face the ever- failures in the supply network. A considerable amount is lost along
increasing demand. Today dams can mobilize part of dripping the way before reaching its destination; forcing to deliver an
water in watersheds. Strengthening the mobilization of surface additional amount of water to meet the demand.
water by building new dams will increase the amount of water Adaptation to climate change may require creation or
delivered. Indeed, the Algerian government goes forward by enhancement of infrastructure for natural or articial groundwater
launching new dam projects. These investments can globally be recharge and storage in preparation for dry seasons. Hughes,
evaluated to 234 million dollars for the two dams under con- Chinowsky, and Strzepek (2010) pointed out that the costs of
struction (Oued-Djemma and Souk-Tleta) in the near region of adapting existing water infrastructure to climate change scenarios
Algiers with a capacity of 266 million cubic meters. are less than 2% of total of basic infrastructure costs in OECD
It is noteworthy that the improved water supply system requires countries.
an additional desalination plant equivalent to the existing Hamma The reuse of treated wastewater has been initiated but is at an
station that can globally evaluated to 250 million dollars (Mozas & embryonic state. Several projects to achieve that goal have been
Ghosn, 2013). launched. The treated wastewater reuse represents a potential to be
considered with greater attention in a country reputed arid.
4.1.2. Improving existing infrastructure Reducing fresh water demand of agricultural and industrial activ-
The option of increasing supply should be linked with an ities could be signicant if they use recycled water after appropriate
effective policy to reduce network losses caused by leaks due to treatment. The amounts of water gained would be redirected to the
M. Naimi Ait-Aoudia, E. Berezowska-Azzag / Habitat International 58 (2016) 51e58 57
5. Conclusion
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