Al-arbaâ Valley is a watercourse originating from the

Khachna The Khachna Range (, ''Jibal Khashna''; Berber ''Adrar n Kheshna'') is a mountain range of the Tell Atlas, part of the Atlas Mountain System. It is located in Kabylie, Algeria. Geography The ''Khachna'' is a massif made up of two differentiate ...

Mountains and flowing through the regions of Ouled Aissa and

Sidi Daoud Sidi Daoud () is a farming town in north-central Algeria, on the west bank of the ''Sebaou River'', a few kilometers downstream from its river delta, mouth. It is the capital of a municipality dominated by the mountain of Bouberak, including the ...

. It empties into the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

to the east of

Djinet Djinet (Arabic: جنّات ''Jannāt''), the classical Cissi, is a port town and commune in the Bordj Menaïel District of Boumerdès Province, Algeria, east of the mouth of the Isser River and around Cape Djinet. As of 2008, the population of ...

, passing through

Boumerdès Province Boumerdès (, Kabyle language, Kabyle: Tanebḍit n Bumerdas) is a provinces of Algeria, province (''wilaya'') of northern Algeria, located in the Kabylia region, between Algiers and Tizi-Ouzou, with its capital at the coastal city of Boumerdès ...

Description

Al-arbaâ Valley is one of the main waterways in the eastern

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

and the western area of

. This hydro-graphic basin covers an area of approximately 35 square kilometers within the "Al-Droa'a Mountains" of the Khachna range. The tributaries feeding this river descend from an altitude of 550 meters within the municipalities of Ouled Aissa and

, continuing their flow through the municipality of

until reaching the Mediterranean Sea. Its mouth lies on the border between

and

. This watercourse benefits from numerous mountain springs, in addition to rainfall and melting snow, which collectively gather its water. It plays a vital role in

, bordered by

Sebaou River The Sebaou River, or Oued Sebaou (''Asif n Sabaw'' in Kabyle language, Kabyle, ''Wād Sībāw'' or ''Wād Nissa'' in Arabic) is the main river of the western Kabylie region of Algeria (roughly corresponding to the present-day Tizi Ouzou Province), ...

to the east and

Isser River The Oued Isser is a river of Algeria. It begins in Médéa Province, is the main river, with Oued Sébaou of the Medea, which runs through the Lower Kabylie of Djurdjura (or the current province of Boumerdès) Wilaya of Bouira, then flows i ...

to the west.

Path

Al-arbaâ Valley flows through a single coastal Algerian province,

Boumerdès Boumerdès (; ; formerly ''Rocher Noir'') is the capital city of Boumerdès Province, Algeria. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea. It had a population of 15,000 in 1987 and 28,500 in 1998. Boumerdès is a seaside city located in the north o ...

, located within the Khachna Mountains.

Roads

Al-arbaâ Valley intersects with several roads along its course.

Pollution

Al-arbaâ Valley is relatively less affected by water

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

due to its course lying outside the urban and residential fabric of Sidi Daoud and Boudouaou's surroundings. However, indiscriminate dumping of solid waste, debris, and rubble has narrowed the Stream bed along its course outside these towns. Additionally, the discharge of wastewater from nearby villages has turned it into a source of unpleasant odors and harmful insects.

Floods

Al-arbaâ Valley experiences

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...

during the rainy season due to

rainwater Rain is a form of precipitation where water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Eart ...

flowing from the upper areas of the municipalities of Ouled Aissa,

, and

. These floods occasionally submerge its mouth near the bridge on National Road No. 24. The primary cause of these floods is the blockage of the rainwater drainage system by soil and stones. To address this issue, plans are underway to mitigate the problem as part of the ongoing project to expand and upgrade the national road. This includes the construction of a high and elevated bridge to prevent the river's waters from flooding the roadway.

Dam

Al-arbaâ Valley Dam, also known as Sidi Daoud Dam or Hamrouna Dam, was constructed on the course of Al-arbaâ Valley to mitigate the frequent flooding affecting Sanouine Village in

and Ouled Benoua Village in Djinet. Construction began in 1973, and the dam was completed in 1975 with a storage capacity of 3.7 million cubic meters. Its primary purpose is to prevent floodwaters from impacting these coastal villages and the bridge on National Road No. 24. In addition to flood protection, the dam has been used for

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...

since April 2010. Fish species such as

silver carp The silver carp or silverfin (''Hypophthalmichthys molitrix'') is a species of freshwater cyprinid fish, a variety of Asian carp native to China and eastern Siberia, from the Amur River drainage in the north to the Xi Jiang River drainage in ...

and

Redbreast tilapia The redbreast tilapia (''Coptodon rendalli'') is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It is found widely in the southern half of Africa. Its natural habitats are freshwater lakes and freshwater marshes. It is known as the redbreast kurper ...

were introduced into its reservoir, which also supports agricultural irrigation. However, the dam's water is not suitable for drinking, necessitating the sourcing of fresh water for the surrounding mountainous areas, including Ouled Aissa. The reservoir's heavy water conditions make swimming unsafe, and accidents have occurred due to the muddy nature of its banks. Upon the

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

's inauguration in the mid-1970s, local farmers expressed optimism about using its water for irrigation. However, the theft and degradation of pumps and pipelines hindered efforts to expand vegetable farming in the region, specifically in the plains of Yesser and Dellys. Despite being designed to irrigate over 609 hectares, farmers rely on costly water tanker services to sustain their agricultural activities. Promises have been made to rehabilitate the dam's infrastructure by installing new pumps and larger pipelines to maximize its stored water usage. Such improvements could also enhance the dam's tourism potential, given its proximity to natural attractions such as Boubrak Forest and Mount Sidi Daoud, which rises to 595 meters. The dam's sedimentation has significantly reduced its capacity, with nearly half of the reservoir filled with silt since 1978. A desilting operation is necessary to restore its water storage capacity. The existing infrastructure, including an old water transfer station and two storage tanks in the villages of Sanouine and El-Aaradj, provides a foundation for reactivating the dam's irrigation and water management capabilities."Farmland irrigation constraints reappear: Fellahs from Sidi-Daoud, Cap-Djinet and Ouled Aïssa complain - Algerie360
. Archived from th
original
on 2020-10-17. Retrieved 2020-10-17.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Al-arbaa Valley Rivers of Algeria Valleys of Algeria