Morocco concerned about water situation
The alarming situation of the dams located next to Morocco's large agricultural perimeters is a cause for concern for the country's government. On 13 February, the Minister of Agriculture, Ahmed Bouari, highlighted the worrying drop in water reserves, which is causing the deterioration of vegetation cover in several agricultural regions of the country.
Although the 2024-2025 agricultural season is seeing a slight improvement in rainfall compared to the unprecedented drought of the previous period, the situation is still alarming, especially with the exceptional heatwaves of February 2024. Despite the fact that this month is usually the coldest of the year, unprecedented heatwaves have been experienced in several Moroccan cities.
Worrying water situation
In his presentation of the results of the current agricultural season, marked by the lowest rainfall in the last 30 years (53% below average), Ahmed Bouari clarified that the months of September and October were encouraging, while December and January were deficient.
Over the last few months, Morocco has recorded less than 20 millimetres of rainfall, a situation that has had an impact on the vegetation cover in several regions of the country, particularly during the autumn. In this context, the region of Lucus, in the northwest of the country, is an exception.
With regard to the groundwater mobilised for agriculture, Minister Bouari announced that the total retention in agricultural dams or filling rate does not exceed 1.2 billion cubic metres and only 760 million cubic metres have been allocated to agricultural irrigation, a figure that is less than 14% of what is needed.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture, in the main agricultural perimeters this filling rate does not exceed 2% in the perimeter of Doukala; 5% in Tadla; 13% in El Haouz; and 25% in Sus Masa, reaching an average of 26% in the other areas.
Compared to 2020, the total volume of water in agricultural irrigation and drinking water dams reached almost 8 billion cubic metres in February. Despite the commissioning of new dams, the total volume of water does not exceed 4.6 billion cubic metres.
The current reality of the water situation in Morocco can be summarised as low rainfall, low water reserves and water scarcity for the agricultural sector. ‘Despite this, our agriculture continues to function, providing agricultural products to the markets. For this we must congratulate our farmers for the efforts they make,’ Bouari emphasised.
Comparison with 2018
To truly appreciate the gravity of the water situation in Morocco, one must compare the current situation of the dams with that of 2018, which was the last rainy year in the country, rather than with 2024, the year that has registered the highest levels of drought.
This comparison of rainfall and the reserves of some of Morocco's dams between 2018 and the present day shows an abysmal difference, as the following examples reveal:
AlMassira Dam: there has been no significant improvement since December 2018, with an increase of just over 2%. Recent rainfall had a minimum effect of 2.21% compared to 1.56% in 2024, an increase of 0.65%. In absolute terms, this increase is barely 17 million cubic metres, equivalent to the consumption of the city of Casablanca in one month.
Sidi Said Maachou Dam: it is about to run dry due to its low retention capacity, although it tends to fill up quickly with modest rainfall. Since August 2024, its reserves have dropped to 0.5%, but the rains in September and October have allowed it to be partially refilled to reach a level of 24% in December 2024.
Ahmed El Hansali Dam: located in the agricultural area of Tadla, near Oued Oum Rabii, and with a capacity of 668 million cubic metres, it has been in a worrying situation since 2018, when it was filled to a level of 97.7%, equivalent to a capacity of 652.8 million cubic metres. Since 2022, even under the best conditions, the dam has not exceeded 16% of its capacity. Currently it does not exceed 34%, that is, 22.28 million cubic metres.
Idriss I Dam: located in the Fez-Meknes region, the dam supplies drinking water to the city of Fez and its suburbs, as well as the surrounding agricultural land. However, it is suffering the effects of drought, after its reserves fell in 2024 to 18.27%, compared to current reserves of 25.01%, that is, 282,514 cubic metres, which are not enough to meet drinking water and irrigation needs.