A drinking water treatment plant up and running in record time for Oran in Algeria

Early in 2000, Oran and its region did not have a drinking water supply. SUEZ has built and operated the Sidi Lahdjel drinking water plant, the second largest in Algeria, a project which is backed by a transfer of technology for sustainable, efficient management of the facilities.
The mission

Guarantee continuous production of drinking water for Oran and the surrounding region

In the early 2000's, the supply, treatment and distribution of drinking water had become so critical in Algeria that the government decided to implement firm actions. Oran and its surrounding region were amongst the priority zones. Due to an insufficiency of underground water sources, water had to be transferred from the Cheliff dam for treatment.
560,000
m3
daily output of the Sidi Lahdjel plant
Our solution

Treat water with a methodology based on efficient processes

SUEZ worked alongside the National Dams and Transfer Agency on one the largest national hydraulic projects: construction, development and operation of the Sidi Lahdjel drinking water production plant. As the second largest such site in Algeria, it supplies several cities in including Mostagenem, Arsem, Oran (MAO) and their regions.
 
Within a short time, SUEZ was able to develop a water treatment line to deliver high throughput, and implement efficient installations at all phases 
 
Upstream of the Sidi Lahdjel plant, raw water from the Cheliff dam is subject to specific treatment at a de-sludging plant designed by SUEZ teams. 820,800 m3 /day are then aerated, clarified and filtered prior to final disinfection. SUEZ equipped the Sidi Lahdjel plant with innovative processes, in particular Densadeg® 2D clarifiers (high settling rate, water quality) and 18 Aquazur® V sand filters each with a surface area of 151.4 m2.

The result
The Sidi Lahdjel treatment plant delivers 561,600 m3 of drinking water per day. Sufficient to provide relief for Mostaganem-Arsem and Oran and ease their water scarcity.
28
months
a record time needed to build the drinking water treatment plant
13.5
m/h
high settling rate of the Densadeg® clarifier unit installed in the plant