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Tunisian government plans to desalinate 650 million cubic metres per day (m3/day) of seawater and recycle more than 350 million m3/day of wastewater for use in the agricultural sector to guarantee food security, Tunis Afrique Presse news agency reported.
There is a need to accelerate the creation of seawater desalination plants to alleviate the pressure on conventional hydraulic resources and groundwater, said Hamadi Boubakri, member of the executive board of the Tunisian Union of Agriculture and Fishing and in charge of water resources and sustainable development.
The filling rate of dams is at most 30 percent of their capacity, he said, adding 50 percent of irrigated areas have been lost due to lack of rainfall. The country’s most important dam, Sidi Salem, is experiencing a declining fill rate with dam holding only 97 million m3 against its holding capacity is 580 million m3.
The country’s dilapidated distribution networks are responsible for the loss of nearly 50 percent of irrigation water in several regions and 30 percent of drinking water, Boubakri said.
Tunisia's average per capita water consumption is estimated at 430 m3/year.
(Writing by P Deol; Editing by Anoop Menon)
