Wastewater Treatment in the Skikda District: Current Situation and Interactions of the New Treatment Plant Project

Abstract

In Algeria, among the measures developed are the treatment devices installed throughout the national territory. However, this reflection required colossal. In this work, we have tried to assess the environmental impact compared to the current situation, where no treatment is carried out (total flow of wastewater from the population of the municipalities of Larbi Ben Mhidi and Filfila estimated at 14,741 m³/day), with all the adverse consequences of pollution (discharges into the sea), the impact on the population (the agglomeration of Larbi Ben Mhidi covers an area of 157.9 ha). To address this situation, the country is engaged in improving citizens’ living conditions, increasing wastewater treatment capacity, and building more than 100 new units across the national territory. That of the grouping of Filfila will be the second treatment plant (in the city of Skikda); to rationalize the water demand and ensure better wastewater recovery for possible reuse in the agricultural, tourism, and industrial sectors. This research was conducted before the treatment plant's commissioning, or a set of analyses was conducted (April 2019) on the water to assess the quality of untreated discharge water (R1) and groundwater P1, P2, and P3. This analysis campaign includes physico-chemical parameters: temperature, pH, dissolved O₂, electrical conductivity, turbidity, nitrites, nitrates, BOD5, COD, suspended solids (SS), PO4, and SO4. The R1 wastewater analyses indicate high values that exceed the standard for BOD5-P-Nitrates and IPO, while the groundwater is below the norms.