The grouping of Tlemcen, Chetouane and Mansourah is located in the north-west of Algeria; it occupies about
11,220 hectares representing the inner basin of Tlemcen. This basin is bounded by the cliff of Lalla Setti on the
south, the high hill of Ain El Hout to the north, Oum el Alou to the east and the mounds of Beni Mester to the west.
3. Current situation of the drinking water suply in the urban cluster of Tlemcen (UCT)
The water supply of the urban cluster of Tlemcen is provided from 20 drillings, 8 springs and three dams (Dams of
Meffrouche, Sikak and Beni Bahdel). The storage capacity is enormous (37 tanks and load breaks).
The distribution network of the Urban Cluster of Tlemcen (UCT) is a mixed network (meshed and branched)
presenting different levels of pressure in the distribution; it is beyond 450km in length (350km of distribution, over
50km of water supply and the remaining are pipes playing both supply and distribution roles in the same time).
The diameter of the pipes vary from 20/27mm of galvanized steel to 600mm of coated steel for the distribution and
of 50/60 mm of galvanized steel to 1100 mm of pre-stressed concrete for water conveyance (a gallery of 2000 mm
of diameter is used to transport water of the Meffrouche dam to the treatment plant). The number of accessories
includes 830 valves, 10 drains and 5 suctions.
The water supply network UCT consists of 24 distribution areas supplied by different tanks. These zones are created
by manipulated valves on the network according to the availability of water in storages.