Four questions for the Minister of Equipment and Water

Basins such as those of Moulouya, Oum Er Rbia and Tensift suffer from problems related to the scarcity of water and the depletion of the reserves of the related dams.

Faced with this situation, the Ministry of Equipment and Water has taken a series of urgent measures which aim to guarantee the supply of drinking water in the various regions covered by these hydraulic basins with an overall budget of 2.42 billion dirhams (MMDH).

In an interview granted to MAP, the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka discusses the various programs and projects adopted by Morocco to deal with water scarcity and provides details on the plan recently launched to ensure the supply of drinking water in the basins concerned.

Also, Mr. Baraka makes an inventory of water desalination activities and highlights the strengths of Morocco in this area.

1- Morocco has multiplied actions in recent years to deal with the scarcity of water resources. What are the main projects planned by your department to improve access to water in the different regions of the Kingdom?

HM King Mohammed VI gives high priority to the water sector. In this context, several programs have been implemented with the fundamental objective of mobilizing water through the construction of dams which are of paramount importance for the Kingdom. To date, Morocco has 148 dams.

In addition, several efforts have been made to improve access to water for the population, especially in rural and mountainous areas. Nearly 98% of these areas are covered with water supply canals, while 40% of the population in rural areas has a water connection compared to 100% in urban areas.

In addition, many projects have been implemented to deal with the effects of climate change. In this sense, the Sovereign recently kicked off the National Program for Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation 2020-2027 with an overall cost of 115 billion dirhams. This program essentially aims to ensure, on the one hand, the supply of drinking water for the benefit of citizens and, on the other hand, water intended for irrigation in the agricultural sector.

In addition, the law on water was published, which is based on fundamental principles guaranteeing in particular the right to water for all. It also involves the launch, in 2009, of the national water strategy with the aim of coping with two successive years of drought, ensuring access to water for all citizens, coping with pressure exerted on the provinces, guaranteeing the supply of this vital commodity for all sectors, particularly agriculture, industry and tourism, working to improve the quality of water and food for the water table in order to face the various problems related to climate change.

It should be remembered that this year is marked by a 59% decline in water resources. The filling rate of the dams has currently reached only 34% with 5.3 billion m3, while the capacity of the dams exceeds 19 billion m3. According to the logic of climate change, there will be years of drought and others of floods, which requires the protection of several areas.

On the other hand, the evaluation that we carried out demonstrated a problem in the pace of implementation of the national water strategy. To this end, HM King Mohammed VI has oriented himself towards the establishment of a catch-up program in order to meet these challenges in the future.

2- You have just announced an emergency program of nearly 3 billion dirhams to solve the problem of the scarcity of water resources. Can you give more details about this new program?

Indeed, it turned out that despite the efforts made and the National Program for Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation 2020-2027, some basins suffer from a water deficit, including the Moulouya basin (Oujda and Oriental). Indeed, the filling rate of the dams of this one does not exceed 11%, which negatively affects the population of these regions.

This situation is due on the one hand to climate change and the decrease in rainfall and, on the other hand, to the delay in the implementation of the national water strategy. Thus, a water desalination station in Saidia was to be completed at the end of 2018, in order to guarantee the water supply for the population of Nador, Driouch and Saidia.

In order to cope with this water deficit, a program has been set up for the Moulouya basin. With an envelope of 1.3 billion dirhams, this program aims to mobilize all possible water resources, in particular through the prospecting of new groundwater or the launch of a water desalination program in Nador.

It was also proceeded, in this context, to the establishment of new hill dams for the Moulouya basin, as well as the construction in the future of 11 hill dams.

The Tensift basin is also experiencing a water deficit with a filling rate of 34%. In this respect, the city of Marrakech also suffers from a water problem, which required the mobilization of 20 million m3 from a dam in order to guarantee the water supply for this city. In addition, efforts were made to solve the problem of “water theft” in the region and that of the yield of the water canals which recorded losses ranging from 40% to 60%.

Also, this is the launch in the coming weeks of the major water desalination project in Casablanca of 300 million m3. The connection from Casablanca North to Casablanca South has contributed to reducing the pressure on the El Massira dam, while for the Bouregreg basin, there will be recourse to the Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah dam.

Told daddy he really should defrost these burgers before grillin em. "NAH THEY'LL DEFROST ON THE GRILL. DONT TELL ME HOW TO COOK.
— Jordan Ritchie Wed Jun 11 03:13:55 +0000 2014

In addition, hill dams will be built in the Oum Er Rbia basin, in addition to the guarantee of integrated water management for groundwater in the Berrechid region as well as the conclusion of contracts in this important agricultural area to meet water needs but not to the detriment of drinking water.

In addition to these urgent programs, this year will see the launch of a program consisting of 120 hillside dams which should end in 2024. Hillside dams play an important role in the fight against floods in addition to guaranteeing water for livestock and groundwater recharge.

In this sense, the water table is experiencing excessive exploitation and the city of Berrechid alone experiences the depletion of 2 m3 of the water table annually, and the region of Al Houz with 1.5 m3. It is necessary to face this real problem in a rational way based on the integrated management of water as well as the responsible use of water and the management of demand.

3- What is your assessment of water desalination programs and projects in the different regions of the Kingdom?

There is currently talk, through the new strategy of the Ministry of Equipment and Water, to tackle the desalination of water. To this end, Morocco enjoys two coastlines and has accumulated significant achievements in the field of renewable energies, both solar and wind, which will be able to guarantee the desalination of water at a lower cost.

There has been the launch of major stations in the southern regions (Laâyoune and Sidi Ifni), and the new experience, within the framework of a public-private partnership in the region of Chtouka Ait Baha, is likely to guarantee drinking water supply in Agadir and supporting the agricultural sector through the irrigation of several hectares of agricultural land.

The Dakhla project will also be launched through the exploitation of wind energy for water desalination, which will ensure the supply of drinking water and the irrigation of large agricultural areas without having to use of groundwater. Thus, the current level of the water table will be maintained at the time that the use of water in the agricultural sector will be guaranteed, which will contribute to improving the incomes of small and medium-sized farmers in these regions.

Indeed, all the tourist towns are moving towards this process, like the city of Casablanca, which this year saw the launch of its project in this area. Indeed, water desalination will be carried out in this city by 2026-2027, as well as in Safi (2025) and Nador. In this context, the ministry aims to set up a total of 20 water desalination stations.

4- What water strategy do you recommend for the years to come, in light of the recommendations of the new development model?

The New Development Model raised the issue of water, emphasizing that Morocco will face great pressure due to climate change. The transition is made today from the phase of water deficiency to the phase of water scarcity. There are also great disparities in this area. We cite in this respect the regions of Loukkos where each citizen has approximately 600 to 700 m3/year, while this average does not exceed 100 m3/year in the southern regions.

It is also to be underlined the problem of precipitations which concentrate mainly on 7% of the total surface of the country, which requires to provide more efforts.

To meet these challenges, efforts to mobilize water from dams are being deployed, such as the launch of a major program that has enabled the construction of 11 dams, while the objective set is to build 20 dams by 2027. The ministry is also working on the desalination of water in order to mobilize possible water resources, and also ensures the exploitation of waste water after treatment. Only 58 million m3 of these waters are currently exploited, whereas it was planned, according to the national water strategy, to reach 300 million m3.

We note another fundamental point relating to water efficiency, which remains linked to the problem of canals and the losses recorded at their level. There is also a need to manage water demand, in light of the pressure on water resources in the agricultural sector.

The dimension of water efficiency must also be integrated into the future vision of cities. Meetings with the departments concerned (agriculture, housing, town planning, energy transition and sustainable development) were held with the aim of creating "common" working groups to master these points, ensure the sustainability of water for citizens and economic activities and enhance the use of water.

In addition, awareness campaigns for the benefit of citizens on the importance of rational water consumption will be organized.

It is also essential to preserve the water table and to supply it with a view to using it in the future in the event of a possible succession of years of drought.

Finally, it is time to opt for integrated water management for both producers and consumers of this vital commodity. Integrated water management is able to ensure more effective, efficient and profitable use, which will guarantee, at a lower cost, drinking water for all citizens, as well as water dedicated to irrigation and all economic activities.

Source: MAP