Rabat – As this year’s drought continues to weigh down on Morocco’s water resources, Lydec, the utility company managing Morocco’s largest city Casablanca, announced that it will start rationing water as of December 1.
The French utility company said in a statement that “During this period of drought, which has led to a critical water situation in the water basins supplying the Casablanca province, and following the instructions of the supervisory authorities, we have put in place a detailed action plan to manage the water shortage in the area of delegated management.”
This is not the first time Casablanca resorts to rationing water. In August, local authorities in Morocco announced a series of measures to preserve local water resources.
Local authorities issued instructions banning the use of drinking water for gardening, according to a report by Spanish outlet EFE.
In a statement, Casablanca’s Deputy Mayor Moulay Ahmed Afilal told the Spanish press agency that the city is “facing a water emergency situation, the stored water is insufficient,” adding that the city must “take care of the resources” it has. The official further emphasized that authorities have set in motion a list of sanctions and fines to ensure the implementation of the measures.
Other cities and towns across Morocco have previously enacted similar measures, including restricting the flow of drinkable water supplied to homes.
Other cities like Beni Melal, a city in north-central Morocco, have taken drastic measures like cutting the water supply at night.
This comes as the adverse weather events experienced in 2022 caused the country to go through a hotter and extremely dry summer adding to record-low levels of rainfall.
Morocco’s current water reserves are at a four-decade low, at 28%, down from 46% last year.
