Morocco’s Dam Levels Improve, but Water Stress Concerns Persist Amid Climate Change

Although an improvement is noticeable this year, the water situation in the kingdom is more worrying, mainly due to the observed climate changes, with successive periods of drought or the varied distribution of rainfall between regions. Thus, despite the efforts made for efficient water management, there is still a lot to be done to curb the water stress facing the country. Regarding rainfall, reports La Vie éco, the dam filling rate, as of March 10, was 50.8%, or about 8,171.7 million m³. Thus, "we can say that this year the rains are well distributed between the regions, with however a surplus in the North and a slight deficit still recorded at the level of the South..." , said Rachid Doukkali, former professor at the IAV and the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University.

However, "the situation is disparate. With the exception of the North and North-West basins (Loukkos and Sebou) which have water resources allowing to meet agricultural demand, the others still record deficits (Melouia, Tadla, Lhaouz, Souss...)", specified Ahmed El Bouari, director of irrigation and land development at the Ministry of Agriculture, speaking during a webinar on sustainable irrigated agriculture organized by the IAV.

In addition, "several dysfunctions are recorded, including the development of pumping beyond authorized limits, the lack of a monitoring system to collect the volumes withdrawn and authorized, and the low accountability of users", added Mohamed Alamouri, president of the Comader, stressing that in addition to the actions carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture, within the framework of the PMV, to curb the overexploitation of aquifers, a system of governance based on the involvement and accountability of the various stakeholders concerned will have to be put in place, evaluate the experience of the Souss aquifer contract, improve it and extend it to other regions of the kingdom if possible. It will also be necessary to better manage groundwater by attaching great importance to aquifer contracts and water police, concluded Professor Doukkali.