Morocco will cover half of its drinking water and irrigation water needs with desalination plants

Le roi Mohammed VI clearly expressed this in his speech commemorating the 25th anniversary of his reign: “the challenges facing our country force us to redouble our efforts and vigilance, to design innovative solutions and to subject management models to the rules of good governance. One of these major challenges is the issue of water, which is becoming increasingly complex due to drought, the impact of climate change and natural growth in demand.”

Mohamed VI promotes decision-making to undertake planned workovercome the inconveniences caused by the sharing of water skills in three ministries and require operational and executive actions to launch rapid calls for tenders from companies already engaged for the corresponding works, in order to face the challenge management. water scarcity and increase the capacity of desalination plants.

1. Water shortage
2. Desalination plants
3. Emergency situation
4. Objective: cover more than half of water needs

Water shortage

The fact that the king specifically mentioned this issue in his speech shows the magnitude of the water problem. The data provided by the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture are not encouraging: by 2050, drought will continue in the country, because precipitation is expected to decrease by more than 11%, while average temperature is expected to increase by 1.3%.

The current situation is very difficult: the average water level of existing dams in the country is just 28%. The country’s second largest dam, Al Massira, with a capacity of 2.6 billion cubic meters of water, has seen its reserves fall from 75% in 2017 to just 0.4% today.

The problem is not only social (cities are increasingly lacking water), but also economic, because 80% of the country’s water resources go to the agricultural sectorwhich employs a third of the active population, according to data from the Ministry of Equipment and Water.

Desalination plants

Faced with the seriousness of the problem, and taking into account the fact that Morocco has some 3,500 kilometers of coastline between the Mediterranean and the Atlanticthe country has opted for desalination plants as the best way to meet its water needs.

The most important is that of Agadir d’Abéngoa, today Cox Group, with a production capacity of 275,000 m3 per day. The big news is that 60% of the water produced is used for irrigation. In operation for 2 years and expanding up to 400,000 m3 per day. However, the Government is involved in a tangle of crossed powers between three ministries (Equipment and Water, Agriculture and now with the novelty of the Interior) which delay the signing of the Agadir expansion in an unusual manner and inconsistent with the urgent need for water. . A delay of 5 months since May 30, which should have been signed.

To deal with the most urgent situations, the authorities are putting into service mobile desalination stations that can produce up to 3,600 cubic meters of water per day.

These facilities, which cost approximately US$1.3 million per unit, are the best solution to meet the water needs of areas near the coast. The desalinated water undergoes further treatment to add the necessary minerals and is transported in tanks for distribution to populations within a radius of up to 180 kilometers.

This is what was done in Sidi Bouchta and other villages in need. By April 2023, 44 of these facilities will have been commissioned and 219 more are in the pipelinewhich will help meet the water needs of nearly three million rural residents.

Emergency situation

In some cases, the situation required emergency solutions: the drought which affected the Al Massira press led to a shortage of drinking water in the town of Safi, so much so that the authorities had to call on the public Phosphate Companywhich operates several phosphate plants in the region, to build a desalination plant to help solve the problem.

The plant was built in record time and started supplying drinking water to the city in August 2023, partially, and from February 2024, at full capacity.

A possible extension of this plant is currently being studied to supply the city of Marrakech, located 150 kilometers to the east, and the surrounding region, from 2026.

The construction of six new desalination plants have also started, including one in the country’s economic capital, Casablanca, and eight others should see the light of day, including one in Rabat.

To meet the water needs of the administrative capital of Morocco, the government undertook the construction of a large canal, the Water Route, a 67 kilometer long canal that transports water from the rainy Sebou region to Rabatand which became operational last September.

Objective: cover more than half of water needs

In a recent speech, King Mohammed VI announced that the new desalination plants would provide more than 1.7 billion cubic meters of water per yearwhich would make it possible to cover half of the country’s drinking water needs and irrigate vast agricultural areas by the end of the decade.

The plan calls for the construction of 36 desalination plants between 2026 and 2027, as well as wastewater treatment plants. And this, while continuing to build new dams.

To this end, the government has planned a budget of more than 14 billion dollarswith the aim of connecting the northern and southern river basins, ensuring that the flow of water circulates throughout the network and reaches every corner of the country.