Morocco Faces Severe Water Crisis as Dam Levels Plummet to Critical Lows

As of September 28, the water reserve was 24.6%. A worrying situation that has forced the Moroccan authorities to take a number of measures to avoid wasting the "remaining" drinking water. Today, some dams like Mohammed V on the Moulouya, have a fill rate of 0.4% (25.4% a year earlier), reports Hespress.

The Al Massira dam is at 2.8% while in 2021 its fill rate was 9.8%. The Abdelmoumen dam is at 1.7% against 9.4% in 2021. While others are below the 10% mark, some have completely dried up like the largest dam in the province of Assa-Zag, Touizgui Remz which, in other years, however, showed a fill rate of over 70% in December.

According to the Ministry of Equipment and Water, the picture is still bleak at the level of groundwater and underground resources. Morocco is going through a situation of water stress that could force the authorities to take other measures, in addition to those already in place. According to Minister Nizar Baraka, water distribution may be done at set times, especially in major cities. Moreover, during the summer holidays, the Ministry of the Interior had called for reducing the flow of distributed water and preventing the watering of green spaces and golf courses, washing streets and public places with drinking water. The illegal extraction of water from wells, springs, waterways and water transport canals is also prohibited.