The Moroccan government prioritises drinking water supply to all regions of the country
In order to ensure the supply of drinking water to all regions of Morocco, the government of Aziz Akhannouch is accelerating the pace of implementation of water infrastructure projects, striving to find innovative solutions and raising awareness of the reasonable use of water.
- The Moroccan government determined to supply drinking water to all citizens
- Programmes and alternatives to deal with the water and agriculture challenge
The projects planned for the medium and long term and the emergency measures taken by the relevant ministries are proactively addressing the problem of water stress in the Maghreb country.
The Moroccan government determined to supply drinking water to all citizens
In the context of managing the water shortage crisis, the Minister Delegate for Relations with Parliament and government spokesman, Mustafa Baïtas, said that the government is taking a series of measures aimed at accelerating the pace of construction of several dams and river basin interconnection projects.
These measures are part of the government's strategy to address the challenge of water security. This includes the national programme for seawater desalination plants, the programme for the reuse of treated wastewater and the programme for water saving in drinking water supply and distribution networks.
With regard to short-term water management, Baïtas stressed that the objective is to achieve optimal mobilisation of water resources, especially in dams, wells and existing desalination plants, as well as to install emergency equipment for water transfer and supply.
The Government reinforces, in this line, the vigilance to face the water challenge and adopts as emerging measures to limit the use of irrigation water and to reduce the distribution flow whenever and wherever necessary.
Programmes and alternatives to deal with the water and agriculture challenge
For its part, the National Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation Programme (PNAEPI) 2020-2027, with an overall budget of 143 MMDH, aims to address the effects of climate change, develop water supply and strengthen the supply of drinking water in rural areas, with a view to responding to the growing demand for water resources.
The government spokesman stressed the importance of finding alternative solutions for water used in the agricultural sector in order to intensify production and at reasonable costs, on the one hand, and preserve employment opportunities in the rural world, on the other.
Mustafa Baïtas explained that all these measures are being updated and developed in order to address the main problems posed by the drastic decrease in rainfall.
Irrigating a river basin in the Dakhla area by 2026, through innovative methods, will be an efficient solution for the preservation of the region's agricultural production in the southern territories as well.
The minister stated that the water allocated to agriculture had decreased considerably in recent years, which had led the government to take a number of urgent measures in this regard. The possibility of diverting water from Um Rbii to irrigate several other basins will indeed help to increase agricultural production.
The Moroccan government is therefore mobilised to provide water "in a reasonable manner" to all citizens, without neglecting commitments to provide adequate water to the river basins, especially to avoid the problems of reducing the cultivated area and agricultural production.
The current government is defying time to complete the Casablanca seawater desalination plant within a reasonable timeframe, since, once operational, it would provide more than 300 million cubic metres of water.