Rabat – The Sebou Hydraulic Basin Agency (ABHS) has allocated over MAD 600 million ($60 million) to tackle water pollution in the Sebou Basin, which has been severely affected by waste from olive oil production.
A total of 14 treatment stations for olive mill wastewater (margines) have been built in the agency’s operational area, with a combined annual capacity of over 709,000 cubic meters. Eleven of these stations are located in the Fez-Meknes region.
The province of Taounate hosts three stations with a capacity to treat 153,800 m³ per year. In Sefrou, three additional units have been set up with a total capacity of 161,759 m³.
Two other stations were installed in Moulay Yacoub (over 125,000 m³) and Meknès (63,000 m³). In Fez, a station has been established along with the relocation of other units outside the city, totaling 118,400 m³. Outside Fez-Meknes, two stations have been set up in Sidi Kacem, and one in Ouazzane.
These installations were developed through agreements between ABHS and its institutional partners, with a shared goal of preserving surface water quality.
Addressing the impact of olive oil production, Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, noted that the water pollution in the Sebou Basin is closely linked to the presence of olive mill wastewater. A program is underway to rehabilitate certain facilities and relocate others to minimize their impact, he assured.
The Sebou Basin accounts for nearly 25% of the country’s olive production, with a volume of about 1.8 million tons per year. The region hosts approximately 565 olive mills, producing around one million cubic meters of wastewater annually.
According to ABHS, these liquid byproducts from olive oil extraction contribute to nearly 80% of the industrial pollution in the basin due to their high pollutant load on aquatic environments and soils.
