Water resources: Nizar Baraka reveals an alarming drop
Faced with a growing water deficit, exacerbated by climate change, Morocco is taking urgent action. Nizar Baraka stressed the importance of effective strategies and rational water management, in line with the new roadmap defined by The King Mohammed VI. These measures include the construction of dams, the desalination of sea water and the reuse of wastewater. In the face of this crisis, the Minister insists on the need to reduce water wastage and promote efficient use techniques, such as drip irrigation, while preserving aquifer resources vital to agriculture and linking the country’s various water basins.
Nizar Baraka, Minister of Equipment and Water, revealed a decline in water resources. While figures in September averaged 1.5 billion cubic meters, they have since fallen to around 500 million cubic meters.
Addressing the House of Councillors, Nizar Baraka stressed the urgency of the measures adopted to alleviate the growing shortage of water resources, calling for close collaboration between all stakeholders for more rational water management.
He referred to key government strategies, in line with the new roadmap initiated by The King Mohammed VI. These strategies include stepping up dam construction, seawater desalination and wastewater reuse.
Facing climate change
The Minister stressed the importance of focusing on water demand, reducing wastage, and promoting more efficient water use, notably through drip irrigation and other essential techniques. He also stressed the need to preserve aquifers to ensure the sustainability of agriculture, as well as the importance of connecting the various water basins.
Nizar Baraka also highlighted the effects of climate change on the water crisis, exacerbated by consecutive years of drought. He noted that temperatures have risen by more than two degrees over the past two years, a rate higher than the global average.
Water management in crisis
Faced with this critical situation, Nizar Baraka announced that the government has put in place strategies to reduce water wastage and optimize its use, including punctual restrictions on water supply in certain areas during specific hours.
He reviewed the water situation in several basins, including the Bouregreg basin, which is only 19% full. He pointed out that without the royal project to interconnect the Sebou and Bouregreg basins, the situation would have been even more precarious. Thanks to this project, 115 million cubic meters have been transferred, making it possible to reach this level of filling and supply drinking water to Rabat and the north of Casablanca.
In the Oum Er Rabia basin, the filling rate of the dams is alarmingly low, at just 4.6%. The Al Massira dam, which serves the south of Casablanca, Berrechid, El Jadida and neighboring regions, as well as Tamensourt and Safi, has a filling rate of 1.2%, with 32 million cubic meters of water.
To alleviate this situation, the Minister indicated that the OCP’s desalination of sea water had been stepped up. Currently, 60% of Safi’s drinking water comes from this source, with the aim of reaching 100% by January.
Reinforced water supply
The Minister announced that by February, El Jadida will benefit from a drinking water supply provided entirely by seawater desalination. He also stressed the importance of meeting the challenges of water stress, notably with the commissioning of the desalination plant in Casablanca, which should supply 200 million cubic meters of water by 2027, and an additional 100 million the following year.
He also mentioned ongoing efforts to desalinate water in the Jorf Lasfar region, including exploratory drilling and the installation of mobile desalination stations to tackle the water crisis, stressing the need for solidarity and collective action to remedy the situation.
Turning to the Souss-Massa region, he reported that the activation of the Chtouka Ait Baha desalination plant had helped to alleviate pressure on local water resources. He noted that the Aoulouz dam had suffered a significant reduction in its reserves, currently supplying only drinking water, while the distribution of water for irrigation had been suspended for three weeks due to the drop in water levels.
Renewable energies and regional solidarity
Nizar Baraka also spoke about the government’s plan to install desalination plants in coastal towns, thanks to public-private collaboration. These facilities will enable water from dams to be reserved for the needs of inland, rural and agricultural regions.
To combat water shortages, the Minister explained that the government is promoting a strategy of solidarity between coastal and inland regions. This strategy involves extending drinking water distribution networks and discharging dams, whose water will be used primarily for agriculture and rural and inland areas.
The Minister also pointed out that desalination plants would use renewable energies to minimize production costs, positioning Morocco among the most cost-efficient desalination nations in the world.
He concluded by saying that the desalination program will ensure a complete supply of drinking water in coastal areas by 2027, and will contribute to agriculture over an area of 100,000 hectares, generating significant benefits for citizens and diversifying sources of foreign currency income.
National mobilization
The Minister of the Interior, Abdelouafi Laftit, urged governors to rapidly implement the National Water Supply and Irrigation Program. This program aims to reinforce hydraulic infrastructures, diversify water sources through means such as desalination, and modernize irrigation. It has also ordered the supply of drinking water via tanker trucks in drought-affected areas, and the establishment of water points for livestock in rural areas.
Governors are required to submit a monthly report to the Ministry of the Interior on the initiatives taken and the level of water stress in their regions. The Ministry stressed the importance of this issue for public order and its socio-economic impact, calling for total commitment from all those in charge.
