Rabat- The project Hadika 1 was launched in 2013 it aims to offer Kenitra’s future population fast and effective wastewater and rainwater evacuation, which they will eject into the sewage network.
The Autonomous Authority of Kenitra (RAK), an industrial and commercial public institution, launched the project under the joint supervision of the Interior Ministry and the Economy and Finance Ministry.
Since its launch, the project was renewed in February 2018 following the creation of new villas in Kenitra.
The project offers services within Hadika 1 housing estate (Kenitra’s southwest region), representing a strategic point connecting primary urban planning operations such as Alliance, Alliance Extension, and Jnane operations.
The project aims to develop a new housing estate covering 75 hectares, accommodating 40,000 inhabitants to respond to Kenitra’s demographic evolution and economic migration flows. In addition, Hadika 1 seeks to improve the citizens’ hygiene conditions, fight against floods, extend the networks to the non-sanitized areas, and encourage sustainable development.
The project is based on constructing a separate system, which reduces the load on the Kenitra treatment plant by receiving only the wastewater flow. It also prevents the building of costly structures that would require regular maintenance.
Toward Sustainable Water Management
While Morocco has made progress in solving its water crisis, water scarcity has still posed a major threat to the stability of the country.
In this sense, Morocco’s Ministry of Water and Logistics launched on July 2022 a campaign to fight water wastefulness. However, Minister of Equipment and Water Nizar Baraka highlighted that Morocco is set to lose 30% of its actual water resources by 2050.
Baraka also stressed that it is necessary to invest in water efficiency and establish a “hydro-diplomacy” to build solid global agreements to prevent water scarcity in the future. That being said, Hadika 1 aligns with Morocco’s commitment to water security and sustainable management of water resources.
Morocco World News (MWN) interviewed a graduate student Mehdi Librahimi who studies Hydroinformatics and Hydrosystems Management at Ibn Tofail University.
The graduate student worked on Hadika 1 liquid sewage project using hydraulic modeling software. Hydraulic modeling is a mathematical tool used to measure the amount of rainfall, soil sealing state, and general barriers related to rainfall.
Librahimi highlighted essential phases of the project, including constructing a road using topography, building a plan to serve all areas, and calculating the rainfall intensity on watersheds.
In an interview, Librahimi told MWN “Hadika 1 project is set to improve the living environment by implementing socio-collective equipment and developing commercial activities.”
The graduate student also added that using hydraulic modeling software allowed him to identify dysfunctions, including excessive speed in some driving, an overflowing gaze, and driving under load.
In addition, Librahimi noted that maintaining stormwater facilities during heavy rainfall requires considerable human resources and expensive logistics. “I encourage water agencies and engineering firms to invest in hydraulic modeling to anticipate water management failures,” he said.
The graduate student indicated that he faced some challenges related to the study of the project, including accessing meteorological data from rainfall stations and using expensive software tools. Morocco is actively working to make satellite data available to better manage irrigation water.
Finally, he emphasized that there is not just one measuring tool used on a global scale which makes it difficult to calculate the flow therefore, leading to unclear scientific results on water management.
In summary, the initiative shows Morocco’s efforts to turn water management from a threat to an opportunity.
