Springs are natural outflows of groundwater to the surface, enabling to understand the processes of their mineralization; contact with rocks modifies their chemical composition, a combination that is expressed in hydrochemical facies, which are classified into several types. Knowledge of the spatial distribution and chemical composition of spring waters is essential for a good understanding of the hydrodynamisms and hydrogeology of a given region. The mountains bordering the town of Mila are home to a number of groundwater springs, 25 of which are the subject of this study. They were sampled, then analysed at the ADE Mila (Algerian Water Company) laboratory in 2021, and their hydrochemical properties were determined. Geologically, the area hosting these springs belongs to the Tellian domain, the eastern segment of the Maghreb chain, which represents the alpine range of North Africa. Comparison of the water quality of these springs with Algerian and WHO (World Health Organization) drinkable standards has enabled most samples to be classified as soft or moderately hard water, with the dominant facies HCO3-–Ca2+–Mg2+ and Cl−–SO42-–Ca2+–Mg2+. In these waters, the main factors controlling hydrochemical composition are water–rock interactions, and also the contribution of rainwater.
Dams are designed and built to withstand severe destabilising conditions, including seepage problems, which are very often linked to localized discontinuity stress in the rock foundations, or in the banks. This situation allows water to take different circulation paths, and consequently jeopardizes the stability of the dam and reduces its useful capacity. The Beni Haroun dam, located in the North-Eastern part of Algeria on the Oued El-Kebir, with a water storage capacity of about 1 billion m 3 , the dam is located on a Ypresian (Karst) limestone mass with an estimated annual leakage volume of 31.536 hm 3 . The present work focuses on the identification of the water leakage origin in the Beni Haroun dam, using a hydrogeological approach, which consists in interpreting the correlation between the water level in the reservoir and that in the piezometers installed around the dam, for the period 2003 to 2021. The results revealed some interesting findings.
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