Study of the management efficiency of the drinking water supply in arid areas: case of Bechar city (southwest of Algeria)

Abstract

Bechar, a typical Saharan city with an arid climate, receives an average annual rainfall of around 72 mm. Two resources ensure the supply of drinking water to the city of Bechar; the first comes from a catchment field consisting of eight boreholes, and the second comes from the Djorf Torba dam located in the west at about 45 km where is located the drinking water treatment plant. Water scarcity and water supply disruption have caused residents of Bechar city connected to the water supply system to invest in relatively expensive storage and pumping facilities to meet their domestic needs. The survey was conducted on a sample of 20% of the population of Bechar city in a period of 4 months. Through the survey, we have reached that 74% of citizens of Bechar city are not satisfied with the quality and quantity of water and 59% of respondents are not satisfied with the water pressure and are therefore forced to use the pumps.