Tunisia-The filling rate of the dams is only 40%

The percentage of dam filling reached after the latest rains which befell on the country in September 2020, approximately 40%, or 915 million cubic meters, the Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, Akissa Bahri said.

Speaking at the plenary session devoted to the examination of the draft budget of her department for the year 2021, she affirmed that the stock of dams has recorded a slump of nearly 508 million cubic meters. (m3) opposed to the same period of the year 2019.

She indicated the rate of water consumption per head of inhabitant is “high” knowing that it is calculated at 2217 m3 for each citizen and per year, at a time when the quantities of water are low, bordering on the 400 m3 (share of the individual in water per year), which displays the excessive use of water.

It should be recollected that Tunisia suffers from the scarcity of water. It was therefore classified under the bar of water scarcity, with estimates of the amplification of the individual annual share of water.

The line of water scarcity on a global scale is fixed at 500 m3 per individual and per year while the average in Tunisia does not surpass the bar of 400 m3, a figure which is anticipated to decline further by 2030, to reach 350 m3, according to global estimates.