Water Demand Management is Solution of Water Stress?: A Case Study of the Kebir-West River Basin in Northern Algeria

Many regions are facing formidable freshwater management challenges. Allocation of limited water resources, environmental quality and policies for sustainable water use are issues of increasing concern. Over the last decade, an integrated approach to water development has emerged which places water supply projects in the context of demand-side issues, as well as issues of water quality and ecosystem preservation. This paper investigates the water supply and demand situation in the Kebir-West River Basin, North-Eastern Algeria, and formulates a demand oriented water management approach in the all use sector in response to the increasing water penury due to population growth and local land irrigation expansion. This approach requires institutional reinforcement, water pricing reform and agricultural sector adjustment based on economic irrigation methods can reduce water demand by 30%. It is also the paper proposed to use a water evaluation and planning model (WEAP) for reviews the results of measures proposed for the Kebir-West River Basin management and concludes that with the growing water demand and climate change impact, the water authority can't continue to supply the water without trying to actually influence the demand. Demand management has to come into force as an important part of integrated river basin management, so as to ensure the sustainable development of the Kebir-West River Basin.