The construction of dams in rivers can offer many advantages, however the consequences resulting from their failure could result in major damage, including loss of life and property destruction. To mitigate the threats of dam break it is essential to appreciate the characteristics of the potential flood in realistic manner. In this study an approach based on the integration of hydraulic modelling and GIS has been used to assess the risks resulting from a potential failure of Zardezas dam, a concrete dam located in Skikda, in the North East of Algeria. HEC-GeoRAS within GIS was used to extract geometric information from a digital elevation model and then imported into HEC-RAS. Flow simulation of the dam break was performed using HEC-RAS and results were mapped using the GIS. Finally, a flood hazard map based on water depth and flow velocity maps was created in GIS environment. According to this map the potential failure of Zardezas dam will place a large number in people in danger. The present study has shown that Application of Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques in integration with hydraulic modelling can significantly reduce the time and the resources required to forecast potential dam break flood hazard which can play a crucial role in improving both flood disaster management and land use planning downstream of dams.
Algeria is amongst the African countries most affected by climate change impacts especially by drought which caused considerable economic losses in the past decades. In this paper, drought monitoring for the period between 1970 and 2011 was conducted in the Seybouse watershed by analysing annual rainfall data in terms of variability and trends along with the calculation of the standardized precipitation index (SPI). The results indicated important inter-annual rainfall fluctuation and a significant increasing trend. The estimated drought indices indicated that the Seybouse watershed experienced in the past a long dry period with a moderate severity followed by a long wet period at the majority of the study area. Moreover, the interpolation of the standardized precipitation indices (SPI) on the entire Seybouse basin in GIS allowed visualizing and evaluating the spatial--temporal evolution of drought in the region which should help the decision-makers in the management of water resources, agriculture and other activities that may be affected by drought.
Soil erosion by water is a major problem that the Northern part of Algeria witnesses nowadays; it reduces: the productivity of agricultural areas due to the loss of lands, and leads to the loss of storage capacity in reservoirs, the deterioration of water quality etc. The aim of this study is to evaluate the soil losses due to water erosion, and to identify the sectors which are potentially sensitive to water erosion in the Bouhamdane watershed, that is located in the northeastern part of Algeria. To this end, the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was used. The application of this equation takes into account five parameters, namely the rainfall erosivity, topography, soil erodibility, vegetative cover and erosion control practices. The product of these parameters under GIS using the RUSLE mathematical equation has enabled evaluating an annual average erosion rate for the Bouhamdane watershed of 11.18 t·ha . Based on the estimates of soil loss in each grid cell, a soil erosion risk map with five risk classes was elaborated. The spatial distribution of risk classes was 16% very low, 41% low, 28% moderate, 12% high and 3% very high. Most areas showing high and very high erosion risk occurred in the lower Bouhamdane watershed around Hammam Debagh dam. These areas require adequate erosion control practices to be implemented on a priority basis in order to conserve soil resources and reduce siltation in the reservoir.
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