Thanks to the significant rainfall in recent weeks, the dams are showing record filling rates, which suggests a summer without water shortages.
The torrential rains at the end of February and the beginning of March in Algeria removed the specter of drought, to the great relief of the population, who, after very little rain in January and December, were beginning to become worried.
“The latest rains came at the right time. They are all the more important as they allowed certain regions, such as that from Ténès (Chlef) to Béjaïa and Jijel, to make up for the deficit in January and December. The level of precipitation was almost twice the inter-annual average for February. During the days of February 27, 28, and 29, we recorded more than 100 mm of precipitation,” rejoiced Malek Abdesselam, doctor in hydrogeology and director of the Water Laboratory at the University of Tizi Ouzou.
“To date, the filling rate of dams, particularly that of Taksebt and those in the center of the country, is higher than that recorded last year at the same period,” adds the academic.
For his part, the central director of maintenance, control, and operation of dams at the National Agency for Dams and Transfers (ANBT), Ali Boutata, who spoke on Monday, March 4 at the microphone of Sétif regional radio, indicates that the filling rate of dams reached 40.85% nationally after the recent rains and snows, compared to a rate of 34.9% last year at the same period.
The Beni Haroun dam is 100% full
Better, around ten dams in the East, including that of Beni Haroun, the largest in the country, are 100% full. And the Tichy-Haf dam, in Béjaïa, which was almost dry with a filling rate of barely 3%, managed to capture, with the latest precipitation, quantities exceeding 40 million cubic meters for a capacity of 77 million cubic meters, i.e. a filling rate greater than 50%. “The quantities of water collected in recent days in the Tichy-Haf dam have not been recorded for years,” said Mr. Boutata.
“Such a level of rainfall has not been observed for at least fifteen or twenty years,” adds Brahim Mouhouche, a teacher at the National Agronomic School and member of the National Council for Scientific Research and Technologies, on the airwaves of Algerian Radio. In total, the country’s 81 dams have a total water reserve of 3.137 billion cubic meters.
Can we therefore hope for a less painful summer for Algerians whose daily lives are punctuated during the hot season by water shortages lasting several days? The wali of Tizi Ouzou, Djilali Doumi, was very optimistic on Saturday, March 2: with the filling, rate reached (35%) by the Taksebet dam, which supplies this mountainous province and four other central wilayas, but also that displayed by the Koudiet Acerdoune dam, in the wilaya of Bouira, “we are going to have a quiet summer in terms of availability of water resources”.
Malek Abdesselam advocates parsimony
An optimism shared by hydrologist Malek Abdesselam. Which, however, advocates prudence and parsimony in the use of water resources. “It is not certain that there will be significant precipitation in the spring. We will have to think now about being economical in the exploitation of these waters in order to guarantee a decent summer and arrive at a period of great heat with an appreciable rate capable of allowing us to last until October, or even November 2024. , he wants to believe. And he insisted: “We must be careful in exploitation and extend the restrictions on water distribution. »
However, with climate change, Algeria, which has shifted from the status of a practically semi-arid country to that of a highly arid country, will always face the problem of low rainfall and lack of water. Question: What can prevent rainwater from flowing into the sea? Build new dams? The idea appeals to something other than Malek Abdesselam. ” No. It takes time and is expensive,” he says, suggesting “delaying the flow of rainwater into the wadis by creating permeable threshold dikes to store the water and encourage its infiltration into the water tables . underground”.
