GeoScience Enginee ing Vol. 69 (2023), No. 1
geoscience.cz pp. 1–10, ISSN 1802-5420
DOI 10.35180/gse-2023-0084
IMPACT OF RELEASES FROM THE KEF EDDIR DAM ON THE
RECHARGE OF THE OUED DAMOUS AQUIFER
Ouassila HALLOUCHE1, Sam a KADIR2, Rabah BERKANE2, Mohamed BOUKLACHI2
1 Blida 1 Uni e si y, Facul y o Technology, Depa men o Ci il Enginee ing, Blida, Alge ia
2 Blida 1 Uni e si y, Facul y o Technology, Depa men o Wa e Sciences and En i onmen , Blida, Alge ia
E-mail: halloucheo@yahoo.
ABSTRACT
A i icial echa ge is a good way o mobilize wa e in aqui e s and echa ge g oundwa e . Dam elease is one o
he echniques used o g oundwa e echa ge. The pe iodic eleases p og ammed by he Ke Eddi dam make i
possible o echa ge he Damous wadi aqui e loca ed in he coas al wilaya o Tipaza in Alge ia, whose
o e exploi a ion lowe s he le el o i s wa e and causes a ma ine in usion ha pollu es i . In his wo k, o es ima e
he impac o hese eleases on aqui e echa ge, we ollowed he eleases o Ma ch 2020 and May 2021. The
piezome ic le els o g oundwa e we e measu ed be o e he eleases, du ing low caused by hem, and a e hem.
These measu es conce n 13 wells loca ed along he Damous wadi wa e cou se o he i s yea and 18 wells o
he second yea . These wo yea s ha e se en wells in common. I allowed us o compa e piezome ic le els and
echa ges be ween 2020 and 2021. In he absence o eleases on ou e u n in May and June 2022, we measu ed
he dep h o wa e p esence and ook samples om 6 wells o measu e he wa e conduc i i y. These measu emen s
allow us o e alua e he piezome y o he wa e able o e hese h ee yea s, and he conduc i i y will indica e he
deg ee o salini y o i s wa e .
Keywo ds: A i icial echa ge; Ke Eddi dam; Oued Damous aqui e ; Piezome ic le el; Releases.
1 INTRODUCTION
A id and semi-a id coun ies su e om he sca ci y o ain all, and when i occu s, he mobiliza ion o he wa e
i b ings becomes an impo an issue. Wi h he pe iods o d ough ha can be expe ienced e en in humid coun ies,
he conce n o collec ing uno wa e and eusing was ewa e o eplenish he g oundwa e becomes majo ,
pa icula ly wi h he excessi e exploi a ion o hese. Indeed, in 2010, an annual wi hd awal o 1000 km3 is
es ima ed, ep esen ing nea ly 10 % o g oundwa e [1]. This o e exploi a ion can lead o he d ying up and
deg ada ion o g oundwa e , and coas al aqui e s can su e om he phenomenon o ma ine in usion.
We know ha 67 % o g oundwa e wi hd awals a e in ended o i iga ion, 22 % o domes ic needs, and 11 %
o indus y [1]. When es ima ed ha by 2050 en i onmen al low limi s will be eached o app oxima ely 70 %
o ca chmen s in which he e is g oundwa e pumping wo ldwide [2], one unde s ands he need o p ese e his
esou ce o sus ainable de elopmen and p o ec ion o he ecosys em.
A i icial echa ge allows he eplenishmen o g oundwa e o he s o age o wa e in i , i also helps o igh
agains ma ine in usion in o coas al g oundwa e . The Ko ba-Mida g oundwa e , Cap Bon in Tunisia, has seen i s
wa e s deg aded by ma ine wa e s, bu hanks o a i icial echa ge by was ewa e , wa e quali y imp o ed again
[3]. E en hough he pu poses o cha ging a e di e en , i is s ill widely used a ound he wo ld. In he Uni ed
S a es, o igh agains ma ine in usion in o he coas al aqui e s o Cali o nia and hei d awdown, he i s a i icial
echa ge acili ies appea ed in 1895 [4]. In he Ne he lands, 5 % o d inking wa e needs a e me by echa ging
[5], while hose o Be lin (Ge many) a e me a 60 % [6]. In Tangie (Mo occo), in il a ion basins allow he
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GeoScience Enginee ing Vol. 69 (2023), No. 1
geoscience.cz pp. 1–10, ISSN 1802-5420
DOI 10.35180/gse-2023-0084
Illizi
O an
Annaba
Bisk a
Alge
Gha daia
ALGERIA
Ad a
Timimoun
Taown Tamen asse
Tipaza
S udy egion
Ci y 200 km
Tindou
Becha
N
s o age o 1 million m3/yea [4]. In Alge ia, he Mi idja plain aqui e , e y exploi ed and subjec o ma ine
in usion, is he objec o a ious means o echa ge: injec ion wells, in il a ion basins, sp eading, dam eleases,
and use o sewage [7].
Among he echniques used o echa ge aqui e s, dam eleases a e a good way. Indeed, in Tunisia, be ween 1988
and 1996, 70 million m3 we e eleased by he la ge dam buil on he Ze oud wadi o echa ge he Kai aouan plain
aqui e [8]. In Alge ia, he Gh ib and Deu deu dams echa ge he allu ial aqui e o wadi Cheli , while he
Bouke dane dam echa ges he aqui e o wadi Hachem [7].
The cons uc ion o he Ke Eddi dam on he wadi Damous s eam e ains wa e , and he many wells o i iga ion
a e lowe ing he le el o he wa e able. This o e exploi a ion, seen in all aqui e s on he Alge ian coas , causes
he Damous wadi aqui e o be con amina ed by seawa e [9], [10]. The low, na u ally owa d he sea, is e e sed
in ce ain a eas, and he sea wa e sp eads se e al kilome es inland. Releases om he Ke Eddi dam scheduled
h oughou he yea can eplenish he aqui e and educe he deg ada ion o i s wa e s. The objec i e o his s udy
is o assess he impac o hese eleases on he echa ge o his aqui e .
2 STUDY REGION AND WORK METHODOLOGY
2.1 P esen a ion o he si e
Damous is a own in he wilaya o Tipaza loca ed in no he n Alge ie, 68 km wes o Algie s (Figu es 1 and 2).
Tipaza is a coas al wilaya wi h an ag icul u al oca ion. The clima e is o Medi e anean ype wi h a wa m season
om May o Sep embe and a ainy and humid season om Oc obe o Ap il [11]. The a e age annual ain all is
567.30 mm, and he a e age annual empe a u e is 17 °C [12].
Figu e 1. Si ua ion o he la wilaya o Tipaza
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Damous Gou aya
Che chel
Sidi Ama Hadjou Ahmeu El Ain
Bou Ismail
Fouka
Kolea
Wilaya
o Algie s
Wilaya o Blida
Wilaya o Ain De la
Wilaya o
Chle
Medi e anean Sea
10 km
N
Ke Eddi dam
Figu e 2. The own o Damous
The geomo phology o no he n Alge ia is domina ed by elie s, wi h s eep slopes and an essen ially ma ly
li hology wi h li le o no pe meabili y, which disad an ages i in e ms o g oundwa e excep o he as plio-
qua ena y allu ial plains [9]. These o ma ions co e he allu ial e aces o he main wadis o he wilaya o
Tipaza (Maza an, El Hachem, Nado , Messelmoune, and Damous). The allu ial deposi s o he wadi Damous
aqui e e e ed o in his s udy a e o ca bona e o igin; he geophysical s udy by he elec ical me hod o 1966
showed a hickness o 50 o 60 m in he no h wi h esis i i y indica ing a ine ma e ial, in he cen e, he hickness
is 20 o 30 m while in he sou h, he allu ium is coa se and esis an . The pa ha cons i u es he mos in e es ing
aqui e is no h, a he mou h o he wadi [12].
The Ke Eddi (Figu e 3) is an ea h dam buil on he Damous wadi. The dam has a capaci y o 125 million m3 and
egula es 57.4 million m3 annually [13]. I is in ended o mee he d inking and i iga ion wa e needs o he wilayas
o Tipaza, Ain De la, and Chle [13].
Figu e 3. Ke Eddi dam in he wilaya o Tipaza
The dam wa e shed has an a ea o 482 km2 [13] and an a e age slope o 2 %. The d ainage densi y is 2 km/km2
[14].
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2.2 Me hodology
Fo he good managemen o he Ke Eddi dam, and in o de o e acua e he s o ed mud and a oid blocking o
he bo om al es, and also on he eques o he a me s o he ci y o Damous, o allow he supply o hei wells
o i iga ion o c ops, eleases a e ca ied ou . Fo example, be ween No embe 2016 and Decembe 2018, a
olume o 152 million m3 was eleased. These openings o he ga es (Figu e 4) o he dam allow a i icial echa ge
o he wa e able.
Figu e 4. Releases om he Ke Eddi dam
We ollowed he eleases o Ma ch 2020 and May 2021 and ied o es ima e hei impac s on he piezome ic le el
o he wa e able. Field ips we e scheduled be o e he eleases, du ing he low caused by hem, and a e he
eleases, o measu e he piezome y o he wa e able wi h a manual piezome ic p obe (Figu es 5 and 6). The
da es o he ips a e in Table 1.
Figu e 5. Piezome y measu emen
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Figu e 6. Manual piezome ic p obe
Table 1. Ou ings da es
Yea
1s ou pu
2nd ou pu
3 d ou pu
2020
2 Ma ch
18 Ma ch
15 Ap il
2021
27 Ap il
28 May
3 June
In Ma ch 2020, a olume o 0.610 million m3 was eleased on 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 25, and 27,
and he measu emen s conce ned 13 wells, while in May 2021, he olume eleased on 3, 6, 11, 12, 17, 20, 24, and
28 was 0.484 million m3, and he numbe o wells was 18. These a e adi ional wells ha can be ope a ed by
se e al a me s. They a e loca ed along Damous wadi (Figu e 7). Table 2 shows inc easing dis ances o pa icula
wells om he dam. I should be no ed ha se en wells a e common o bo h yea s, which allows us o make a
compa ison o g oundwa e echa ge be ween he wo eleases.
,
Figu e 7. Si ua ion o he wells

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DOI 10.35180/gse-2023-0084
Table 2. Posi ions o wells ela i e o he dam
Wells
P17
P18
P15
P1
P2
P3
P4
P9
P14
P10
P11
P5
d (km)
2.4
2.4
3.1
3.2
3.2
3.4
3.5
3.5
3.5
3.6
3.6
3.8
Wells
P16
P6
P7
P13
P12
P8
P22
P19
P20
P21
P23
P24
d (km)
3.9
4.2
4.3
4.9
5
5.1
5.8
6
6.1
7.3
7.8
7.9
In May and June 2022, al hough he e we e no eleases du ing his pe iod, we s ill measu ed he piezome y and
pushed ou in es iga ions by aking wa e samples om six wells (wells no. 1, 2, 19, 21, 23, 24) o measu e he
conduc i i y and compa e i o ha o he dam wa e .
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
As al eady men ioned, o moni o each elease, h ee ou ings ha e been scheduled. The i s ou ing allows us o
diagnose o he s a e o play, he second du ing he low ob ained hanks o he eleases, and he las one a e he
exhaus ion o he low. These ou ings made i possible o assess he e ec o in il a ion on he piezome ic le el
o he wadi Damous aqui e and o see i he echa ge main ains in ime.
The measu emen s o he dep h o wa e p esence in he aqui e du ing he h ee ou ings a e ep esen ed by
his og ams (Figu es 8 and 9). Figu e 10 shows he well loading o Ma ch 2020 and May 2021. On his las g aph,
he wells a e posi ioned om he closes o he a hes one om he dam.
Figu e 8. Piezome ic le el o wells (be o e, du ing and a e ) o Ma ch 2020
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 P9 P10 P11 P12 P13
Be o e
Du ing
A e
piezome ic le el (m)
wells
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Figu e 9. Piezome ic le el o wells (be o e, du ing and a e ) o May 2021
Wha is no ed du ing he i s ou ing and o he wo yea s (2020 and 2021) is ha he wadi bed is d y. The wa e
le el in he 13 wells o he yea 2020 is mo e han 5 m, excep o well 4 (4.92 m). Fo wells 1, 2, and 3, he wa e
is a a dep h ha exceeds 10 m.
The same obse a ion applies o he yea 2021 o he 18 wells conce ned, he dep h o he wa e is be ween 3.9 m
and 11.9 m, wi h h ee measu emen s (wells no. 1, 2, 15) ha exceed he 10 m, and only 5 wells ou o he 18 wells
o his yea 2021 a e below 5 m.
A e he eleases, and he e o e ollowing he in il a ions, he measu emen s o he second ou ing na u ally
showed an imp o emen in he piezome ic le el o he wa e able. This imp o emen is he esul o a echa ge
(Figu e 10) ha a ies om abou 10 cm o mo e han 2 m o he yea 2020. This echa ge is signi ican ly be e
o he wells loca ed nea he dam. In May 2021, his echa ge is slow, and his clea ly appea s o he se en
common wells. The echa ge in 2021 a ies be ween 0 and 0.9 m. I should be no ed ha he olume eleased in
2021 is lowe compa ed o ha o 2020. The wa e om dam eleases con ains sil ha , in he long e m, can educe
he soil in il a ion capaci y. A e his second ou ing, he wa e emains abo e 5 m o nine wells o he yea 2020
and en wells o 2021.
Figu e 10. Recha ge o wells
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
P1 P2 P4 P7 P9 P11 P12 P14 P15 P16 P17 P18 P19 P20 P21 P22 P23 P24
Be o e
Du ing
A e
piezome ic le el (m)
wells
-1
-0,5
0
0,5
1
1,5
2
2,5
P17
P18
P15
P1
P2
P3
P4
P9
P14
P10
P11
P5
P16
P6
P7
P13
P12
P8
P22
P19
P20
P21
P23
P24
Recha ge in ma ch 2020
Recha ge in may 2021
echa ge (m)
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The ques ion we asked ou sel es is: is his echa ge, e en i i is no e y impo an , main ained knowing ha he
eleases a e a good oppo uni y o a me s o i iga e hei c ops hanks o he echa ged wells?
A e he eleases and ollowing he exploi a ion o he g oundwa e , he dep h o he wa e p esence d ops again.
Measu emen s o he hi d ou ing o 2020 show ha imp o emen emains main ained o he majo i y o he wells,
and he wa e is a a shallowe dep h han be o e he eleases, bu compa ed o he second ou ing (du ing), six wells
ou o he hi een eco ded a dec ease o a ound 1 m. Fo 2021, his eplenishmen ends o cancel ou and is only
om 10 o 30 cm; he wa e le el ends owa ds he ini ial le el (be o e he eleases).
The piezome y o he wells ha we e moni o ed du ing hese h ee yea s, shown in Figu e 11, shows a clea
imp o emen o wells no. 1 and 2, bu o he o he wells (loca ed nea he sea), we no e a s abili y o e en a d op
ha can each 2 m (well no. 7 be ween 2020 and 2021, and well no. 24 be ween 2021 and 2022).
Figu e 11. Piezome ic le el o Ma ch 2020, Ap il 2021, May 2022, and June 2022
The e y high conduc i i y o he wa e sampled om six wells in May and June 2022 compa ed o ha o he
dam (1000 μs/cm) indica es a salini y o he g oundwa e , pa icula ly o he wells loca ed nea he sea (19, 21,
23, and 24) whe e i exceeds 2000 μs/cm (Table 3). This salini y is due o seawa e in usion ollowing he d op in
he le el o he wa e able. I is no ed ha in he in e al o one mon h, his conduc i i y con inues o inc ease,
hence he need o eplenishmen o he aqui e .
Table 3. Conduc i i y o he wa e o wells and dam
P1
P2
P19
P21
P23
P24
Dam
Conduc i i y in he mon h
o May 2022 (μs/cm)
1583
1608
2014
2422
2200.78
2300.42
1046
Conduc i i y in he mon h
o June 2022 (μs/cm)
1622
1655
2058
2570
2399
2353
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
P1 P2 P4 P7 P9 P11 P12 P19 P21 P23 P24
Ma ch 2020
Ap il 2021
May 2022
June 2022
piezome ic le el (m)
wells
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DOI 10.35180/gse-2023-0084
4 CONCLUSION
A i icial echa ge makes i possible, h ough he a ious echniques i o e s (se ling basins, injec ion wells,
eleases om dams, e c.), o op imize he in il a ion o wa e in o he g ound whe e i is s o ed.
The Ke Eddi dam, loca ed in he wilaya o Tipaza, schedules pe iodic eleases o allow eplenishmen o he
Damous wadi aqui e . To es ima e he impac o hese eleases on he piezome ic le el o he wadi Damous
aqui e , he eleases o Ma ch 2020 (0.610 Mm3) and May 2021 (0.484 Mm3) we e moni o ed. The dep h a which
he wa e was ound was measu ed o 13 wells in 2020 and 18 wells in 2021. This ope a ion was pe o med
be o e, du ing, and a e eleases. In May and June 2022, he piezome y o six wells was also measu ed, and
samples we e aken o measu e he conduc i i y o he wa e .
This sho moni o ing o h ee yea s o he wadi Damous aqui e has shown ha eleases om he Ke Eddi dam
h oughou he yea make i possible o main ain he s able le el o he aqui e , bu a dep hs ha can exceed 5 o
e en 10 m. These dep hs indica e excessi e exploi a ion o he aqui e and ha e also led o i s con amina ion by
seawa e .
The exploi a ion o he Damous wadi aqui e mus be closely moni o ed. Releases om he Ke Eddi dam emain
insu icien and mus be suppo ed by o he eplenishmen echniques o main ain his wa e able a an accep able
le el and o e e se he ma ine in usion p ocess ha pollu es i s wa e .
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