Morocco’s King Demands Urgent Action on Water Crisis as Scarcity Looms

Several projects related to water management are still at a standstill, due to the lack of concrete implementation strategies on the part of the officials of the various ministries. This situation forced the Sovereign to urge the members of the Government to urgently implement the provisions of the National Water Plan.

According to Assabah, many measures intended to be implemented are experiencing a major delay, despite their urgency. The supply of drinking water to the northeastern and southeastern regions of Morocco, the inauguration of large dams, the establishment of desalination plants and the fair management of water in the agricultural sector are among the urgent provisions included in the National Strategy.

Inaugurated by the Sovereign in 2007 in the Ouezzane region, a water pipeline project has never come to fruition, despite the substantial budget of 433 million dirhams allocated to it. Due to poor governance, the project was not completed and the population continues to suffer the consequences of the water shortage.

Morocco’s drinking water needs are estimated at 5 billion m3 by 2030. This data prompted the Sovereign to question the Minister of Equipment, Transport, Logistics and Water, Abdelkader Aamara, about the filling rates of national dams, following the latest rainfall, in order to compare them to those of the previous year.

To address the lack of water nationwide, the National Water Plan provides for the inauguration of three major dams, including the Beni Mansour dam, which will have a capacity of 1 billion m3. King Mohammed VI has urged the ministers to work on the National Emergency Plan in order to be able to supply the centers and regions experiencing water stress, particularly with drinking water.