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Rabat – Morocco’s Minister of equipment and water, Nizar Baraka, announced earlier today that the country is working on the implementation of a series of measures to combat the ongoing drought.
Speaking at a conference hosted by Morocco’s news agency (MAP) in Rabat, Baraka notably announced plans for the construction of new seawater desalination plants. The goal is to ensure that Morocco can use treated seawater to reduce its water stress, he explained.
The Moroccan government is acutely concerned about Morocco’s complex water issue, Baraka argued, conceding the water crisis has been worsening over recent years as the country is experiencing its worst drought in over three decades.
The new plan entails providing “500,000 million cubic meters per citizen,” Baraka explained, comparing the projected figure to the 1960s when each citizen received 1,500 million cubic meters of water, Spanish outlet EFE reported.
The government also pledges to use “conventional” water resources by constructing more reservoirs, the minister detailed.
Also part of the new plan is branching out and using “unconventional” sources, such as recycling wastewater, Baraka added, stressing: “The aim is to have a balance between the strategy’s dual components, and not solely focus on reservoirs as before.”
Morocco’s government hopes to have “guaranteed water stability” by 2030. According to Baraka, the country’s long-term goal is to have more than 1,300 million cubic meters of water from desalination plants to meet the drinking water demands, as well as agricultural and tourism demands.
Read also: Morocco’s Water Resources Increased by over 207% in 2023
The soon-to-be-launched desalination projects include Casablanca’s “mega plant,” which Baraka said will be operating by the end of 2026 with a “daily capacity of 548,000 cubic meters.”
In addition to meeting Moroccans’ primary water needs, the new plan should provide 100 million cubic meters of treated water for green spaces, golf courses, and industrial use.
The minister recalled that 2022 was the driest year on record since 1945 in Morocco, with snowfall plummeting down by 89%.
Climate change is the main culprit behind the heightened water stress in Morocco, as it is now becoming increasingly common to experience “long periods of drought,” Baraka regretted.
But despite climate change’s overall negative impact, the minister said there has been an improvement in Moroccan dam filling levels and general reservoir production since September 2022.
“Thanks to recent rainfall,” he stated, the dam levels are up by 192% compared to the same period in 2022. Data from February 13 recorded 2.15 billion cubic meters of water.
