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The ecological challenges of summer
Water, waste, noise…
On the calendar, summer still has a few days to arrive, but the ecological challenges that usually accompany it have been brutally announced by the crisis in the drinking water supply which is hitting the town of Tiaret.
The promised prospect for Algeria of exporting water, in 2030, thanks to a production surplus compared to needs, once the program for the construction of seawater desalination stations is completely completed, contrasts sharply with the current reality revealed by the dramatic situation experienced by the 400,000 inhabitants of the town of Tiaret (Hauts-Plateaux, 275 km southwest of Algiers), where the supply of drinking water is ensured with an untenable frequency (we are talking one day in 15 and more), according to the indications given by Le Quotidien d’Oran (June 4, 2024).
The six boreholes which “provided” the city with drinking water, as well as the Bakhadda dam, which also served the surrounding localities, are completely dry, alerted the correspondent of this newspaper in the June 2 edition, the day The meeting of the Council of Ministers was held. The reaction of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was immediate. Firm instructions, down to the smallest detail, have been given to put an end to the disruptions in water distribution in Tiaret as quickly as possible. The next day, the Ministers of the Interior and Hydraulics were on site to implement the presidential instructions. Civil society and elected officials of the wilaya have joined forces to develop an emergency program whose first practical measures should make it possible to improve the situation of the city’s drinking water supply for Eid. El Adha (around June 17). In the immediate future, the solution lies in water transfers and new drilling, while awaiting emergency connection to the Sonaghter desalination station in Mostaganem, whose production capacity is 200,000 m3/d. Another 300,000 m3/d station is planned in Mostaganem as part of a new program planned between 2025 and 2030.
The Bakhadda dam (45 million m3), commissioned in 1936 for agricultural needs, currently silted up and dry, no longer counts. For the Minister of Hydraulics, Taha Derbal, who was visiting Tiaret in March 2024, declared: “From now on, our hypotheses will be developed by excluding the contribution of the Bakhadda dam.”
It is known that in Algeria, dams experience the phenomenon of siltation which reduces their filling capacity. For a long time, no particular attention was paid to the upkeep and maintenance of these structures. Their operation did not benefit from substantial credits to ensure their adequate management, which led to their deterioration (siltation, leaks, obsolescence of equipment). Eleven dams are affected by devasting operations. The ongoing 2020-2025 devastation campaign has made it possible to remove 30 million m3 of silt from the dams in the wilayas of Khenchela, Mascara, M’sila, Skikda, Béchar, Relizane and Aïn Defla, according to the Minister of Hydraulics (session devoted to oral questions to the Council of the Nation, May 9, 2024). He also announced that the National Agency for Dams and Transfers (Anbt) is working to carry out reforestation campaigns in the watersheds of dams in order to protect them against the phenomenon of siltation.
The commotion triggered by the water situation in Tiaret confirms the specialists who assert that the decisive battle to be won is that of water, and, they insist, it cannot wait. They believe that there is no real awareness of the seriousness of this problem, even though they have constantly warned that Algeria, an arid country, will still experience periods of drought.
The unfavorable climatic context for water resources makes it possible to cover up the poor management of the public water service at the local level. If, unfortunately, a pipe is damaged, the residents concerned know from experience that they will have to wait a long time before it is repaired, and in the meantime – this can last several days – they will not have water at the tap.
In rural areas, there is the added risk of obtaining supplies from polluted sources. Water outages should under no circumstances last forever. Distribution by tanker should not be a convenient alternative for delaying repairs to incidents occurring on the networks.
The fact remains that the availability of water resources is reduced, or even zero in certain situations, due to the lack of precipitation which notably leads to a critical drop in the level of dams. The answer lies in the strategy of mobilizing unconventional water – desalination of seawater and reuse of purified wastewater – which limits the constraint imposed by global warming by reducing dependence on rainfall for water resources.
The generalization of seawater desalination stations all along the coastal strip is underway as well as the exploitation of purified wastewater in irrigation instead of using groundwater. Specialists point out that seawater desalination offers a solution which may be palliative in certain conditions.
Saving water saves resources. President Tebboune had given instructions to develop an emergency plan aimed at implementing a new policy to save water on a national scale. The prevailing laxity in the fight against incivility means that the scenes of water wastage are spectacular and in full view of everyone, as if this practice was not prohibited. There is a water police, established by the law of August 4, 2005. It is made up of agents reporting to the administration responsible for water resources. They are sworn in and authorized, just like judicial police officers and agents, to search for and report violations of the law. But, this font does not seem operational, in any case, it is not visible.
However, in 2023, it was the President of the Republic who gave the directive to make the water police operational, to fight against the waste of this vital and rare resource.
The noise
The summer will be an opportunity to confirm the underestimation of the impact of noise pollution on the living environment of Algerians, as shown by the lenient treatment granted to noise makers. “No one is supposed to ignore the law”, this is article 78 of the Constitution (chapter 2. Duties). The noisemakers therefore know that they are committing an offense punishable by law, but they do not fear being sanctioned. Do they have the guarantee of impunity? There is no one to call them to order. On the contrary, the noisemakers are winning. They reap undue profits by not incurring any expense to minimize the noise pollution caused by their economic or commercial activity, consisting, for example, of the rental of sound equipment intended for noisy activities on public roads and in the middle of dwelling. Residents lose out: they are not compensated for health costs due to the effects of noise pollution.
As a reminder, the legal framework allows the authorities to prevent noise pollution: the law of December 2, 1991 (“The installation or use of fixed, temporary or permanent sound systems is subject to prior authorization from the wali”); the 1993 Decree still in force, which sets noise intensity thresholds; the law of July 19, 2003 (Title IV, chapter 2, on noisy activities on public roads); the Highway Code (Order 09-03 of July 22, 2009, on contravention of the provisions relating to the emission of noise).
In the abuses which lead to environmental damage in Algeria, in the case, in particular, of noise pollution, there is a very strong part of the informal sector. The idea that everything can be done outside the law has ended up invading many spheres of life in the country. So, the obligation to refer to the legal framework which governs the environment no longer exists, canceled by other considerations which are more profitable.
No worries about electric current
As for electrical energy, there is apparently nothing to worry about. There’s plenty to spare. Air conditioners, sources of consumption peaks in summer, will be supplied with electricity without risk of interruption. The Sonelgaz Group has set up a special program to cover the growing demand for electricity during next summer and avoid cuts, thanks to the mobilization of more than 25,000 megawatts (MW), more than the 20,000 MW initially planned (from new stations with a total capacity of more than 2,000 megawatts entered service during this year), and very well above the peak consumption of summer 2023 which had not reached 19,000 MW. Particular attention is paid to 16 wilayas which recorded exceptional electricity consumption last year. It was the Minister of Energy and Mines, Mohamed Arkab, who announced it. Some equipment will be reinforced to withstand extreme temperatures exceeding 55 degrees. And if an outage occurs, teams specializing in the production, distribution and transport of electricity and gas from the Sonelgaz Group are permanently mobilized, with the aim of repairing breakdowns as quickly as possible.
Where do invasive algae come from?
During the summer of 2023, in the heatwave atmosphere never experienced before, beaches on the Algerian coast saw the color of their waters turn dark brown, in addition to the murkiness which prevents us from seeing the sand at the bottom. Some days, the bathing waters were so dirty that they could be compared to sewage, with a worrying proliferation of algae. Plastic packaging remains a major cause of marine pollution in Algeria. For several weeks, residents of the La Poudrière district, in Bologhine (formerly Saint-Eugène, western suburbs of Algiers), have been watching their beach with anxiety, wondering if they will be able to frequent it this summer as usual. On the eve of the summer season, it is invaded by algae which concentrates on the edge, making swimming practically impossible and leaving an impression of dirt reinforced by the oily appearance on the surface. Algae, in impressive quantities, also cover the sand and pebbles of the beach.
M’hamed Rebah