The dam of Beni Haroun is the largest in Algeria, and its transfer structures feed seven provinces (wilayas) in the east-ern part of Algeria. Due to its importance in the region, it has now become urgent to study its watershed as well as all the parameters that can influence the water and solid intakes that come into the dam. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model is used to quantify the water yields and identify the vulnerable spots using two scenarios. The first one uses worldwide data (GlobCover and HWSD), and the second one employs remote sensing and digital soil mapping in order to determine the most suitable data to obtain the best results. The SWAT model can be used to reproduce the hydrological cycle within the watershed. Concerning the first scenario, during the calibration period, R2 was found between 0.45 and 0.69, and the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) coefficient was within the interval from 0.63 to 0.80; in the validation period, R2 lied between 0.47 and 0.59, and the NSE coefficient ranged from 0.58 to 0.64. As for the second scenario, during the calibration period, R2 was between 0.60 and 0.66, and the NSE coefficient was between 0.55 and 0.75; however, during the validation period, R2 was in the interval from 0.56 to 0.70, and the NSE coefficient within the range 0.64–0.70. These find-ings indicate that the data obtained using remote sensing and digital soil mapping provide a better representation of the wa-tershed and give a better hydrological modelling.

The research aims to study the purification performance of a local and natural material as an input or as a biological filter for treating urban domestic wastewater. For this purpose, pozzolan was used as the biofiltration support that was provided from Beni Saf located in the North-West of Algeria. Tests were carried out with a specially modified pilot unit (TE900) for wastewater treatment over a period of four months.
To assess the efficiency of the treatment, two main parameters have been focused on – the height of the sprinkler filter (40 cm and 80 cm) and the flow rate (10, 16, and 25 dm ³∙h ^–1). Physicochemical and bacteriological analyses were carried out on raw wastewater and treated water. The obtained results show that the Beni Saf pozzolan-filled trickling filter eliminates a large fraction of the studied pollutants. The purification yields obtained are fairly encouraging; 98% for turbidity, 88% for suspended solids ( SS), 94% for chemical oxygen demand ( COD), and 98% for biological oxygen demand ( BOD ₅). As for bacterial indicators, the formation of biofilms has significantly reduced bacterial activity with a percentage of over 80%.
It can be concluded that the reduction of pollutant parameters clearly indicates the effectiveness of the treatment by this ecological process. Therefore, the use of local and natural materials for wastewater treatment can be a promising alternative based on sustainable environmental technologies and development.