Rabat – Berrechid and several neighboring communes in the Casablanca-Settat region have been facing a severe water crisis since early Sunday morning, following a sudden and prolonged disruption in the supply of drinking water that has lasted more than 60 hours.
According to a statement from the regional directorate of the Casablanca-Settat Multi-Service Company, the interruption was caused by a sudden malfunction in the main water production pipeline operated by the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE).
The statement made no apology to residents. It only advised them to “take necessary precautions,” without specifying when the supply would resume or what measures were being taken in the meantime.
The outage has affected the entire city of Berrechid, as well as the nearby towns of Had Soualem, Sidi Rahal, and Oulad Azzouz, in addition to rural communes such as Sahel Oulad H’riz, Sidi El Meki, Sahel El Meki, and Oulad Abbou.
Repair works have reportedly been completed, and ONEE teams are now working to purge air from the pipeline before gradually resuming water pumping. However, no precise timeline has been communicated for full restoration of the service.
Public outcry and health concerns
The lack of transparency and communication has sparked frustration among residents, many of whom have been forced to resort to unsafe sources of water, including wells in public gardens and hammams, posing serious health risks.
“The water was cut since Sunday, and it continued through Monday and Tuesday until midnight when it came back, but very slightly,” one Berrechid resident told Morocco World News (MWN).
“People started taking water from gardens, wells, mosques, and hammams to manage the situation,” the resident added, noting that many tried to remain patient despite the prolonged outage and uncertainty about when normal supply would resume.
Meanwhile, many residents have taken to social media to voice their frustration over the prolonged outage, sharing videos and photos showing empty taps, long queues at public fountains, and families forced to fetch water from unsafe wells.
Users are denouncing what they described as “a failure of basic service” and “official indifference” to citizens’ daily suffering.
Dozens of posts criticized the lack of clear communication from authorities, calling for transparency, accountability, and urgent government intervention to restore the water supply and prevent similar crises in the future.
The Regional Coordination of Civil Society Organizations in Berrechid issued a statement expressing “deep concern over the long and unjustified interruption of drinking water supply,” which it said has caused “real suffering” for residents, families, traders, educational institutions, and essential services.
The coordination denounced the outage as a violation of a “fundamental right” and called on the Casablanca-Settat Multi-Service Company, local authorities, and elected officials to take full responsibility by providing explanations and immediate action plans to prevent similar crises in the future.
The water shortage has reignited debate on the need for regional reforms in the management of essential public services.
