Techniques of Water Distribution in Rural Areas

Water is extremely crucial for oases in the arid and semi-arid regions, as these areas receive little rainfall, obliging inhabitants to conserve available resources. Successive generations have established khettaras to bring water to the oases. They have also dug wells, built reservoirs, dams, basins, and a dense irrigation network of canals to control and deliver this vital resource to fields, ensuring that crops receive the optimal amount of water while minimising water loss. Besides these water systems, the inhabitants have, since antiquity, invented special techniques for distributing water among peasants, following rules that everyone agrees on. This has effectively mitigated conflicts and disputes that may arise over scarce resources. There are several measures and procedures to equally distribute water using special tools, namely a copper bucket called tanast and another tool known as asqol. Tanast operates like a water clock. It is a small copper bucket with a hole in the bottom. Once placed in a large bucket full of water, the latter slowly fills the tanast through the hole until it sinks. It is then taken out, emptied, and placed back on the water’s surface. Peasants receive water from canals and springs based on how long it takes to fill the tanast, and each peasant is allocated a certain number of cycles to fill the copper bucket. There is another method called asqol, meaning measurement, which involves measuring the water stored in the basins supplied by rivers and springs. After accurately determining the water volume using a special stick made of palm leaves or other suitable material, it is subsequently distributed according to known ratios based on beneficiaries’ rights.