Algeria facing water stress: innovative solutions for a sustainable future
One of the biggest challenges facing Algeria is its drinking water supply. To respond to this emergency, the government is innovating by investing in desalination and wastewater recycling.
Transcript
00:00Hello and welcome to Algeria Tomorrow, one of the major challenges that Algeria has to face is its supply of drinking water.
00:19To counter this water stress, the State has set up and deployed innovative but also resilient solutions.
00:26And it is these colossal projects that I propose you to discover with us.
00:32To the west of Oran, the mega-station of desalination of sea water of the White Cape is strategic.
00:37Oran is currently powered by three stations, but this is not enough.
00:41The needs of the 2.5 million inhabitants coupled with those of the industrial sector are important.
00:47Hence the ambitious project of the White Cape.
00:49It will secure the supply of drinking water of Oran and will strengthen the water resources of other Wilaya of the West.
00:56The construction was carried out in fast track.
00:59The infrastructure will be operational in December 2024, 25 months after the first draw.
01:06We have already anticipated the drought with the first program by putting in place 14 stations
01:13that produce 2.2 million cubic meters per day at 18% of drinking water for citizens.
01:25By 2050, Sahel, in Algeria, will lose 20% of its above-measurement.
01:31So we anticipate this near future by developing an additional program
01:37that will increase our capacity to participate in desalination of water in drinking water from 18% to 42%.
01:45We are here working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
01:49The State has put everything in place for these projects to be delivered in the shortest possible time.
01:57The desalination of sea water has often been pointed out for its expensive nature.
02:01Algeria intends to reduce the impact of energy ports on the environment.
02:09These stations will have an energy mix, solar panels,
02:14will be more environmental, more friendly to the environment
02:19and an essential point, will be connected to 150 km inside the country.
02:27Other projects of this type have already come to light.
02:31This is particularly the case of the Mostaganem station.
02:34In 2011, the Mostaganem Willaya produced 200,000 cubic meters per day of drinking water.
02:40But another station will be born in the town of Kadra, 72 km from Mostaganem.
02:47It will offer easy access to marine resources,
02:50a protection against potential risks related to the rise of sea level,
02:55enough to ensure a daily production of 300,000 cubic meters of drinking water.
03:01Here we can control all phases of water treatment.
03:04We even have alerts, we have all the necessary information
03:10to improve, change or dose.
03:15We can make all the adjustments from here.
03:19Once injected into the national drinking water network,
03:23it is also analyzed at least 2 or 3 times a day.
03:27Here we see water whose parameters meet the standards of Algeria,
03:33which themselves meet the standards of the WHO.
03:36But desalinization alone cannot produce all the drinking water that Algeria needs.
03:42It therefore seeks to strengthen its supply
03:45by using wastewater treated and produced by desalination stations throughout the country.
03:50This allows them to be reused for agricultural irrigation purposes,
03:54as here in Medea, 90 km southwest of the capital Algiers,
03:58where a fruit tree farm is irrigated
04:02thanks to the reuse of desalinated water from the station.
04:07It is the most dominant crop in Syriza.
04:10We have the apple and the grapes.
04:13In recent years, we have had drier years.
04:16We have been forced to look for water.
04:20We opted for the desalination station.
04:25It is very necessary and it was the only solution we saw.
04:30We will have understood.
04:32Algeria relies on desalination of seawater to cover 60% of the population's needs by 2030.
04:39Innovative technologies in wastewater treatment will adapt to this strategy
04:45in order to draw a more serene future.
04:52This is the end of this edition.
04:54See you soon in Algeria Tomorrow.