Rainfall in Morocco in recent weeks has given reservoirs a much-needed boost across the country after years of drought and lack of precipitation.
However, questions have been raised about the government’s policy in dealing with the available water reserves, as despite the recent heavy rainfall, Morocco continues to experience a drought crisis, according to observers.
Saeed Al-Shukri, a consultant on environmental issues and climate change, said that Moroccan dams have been efficient regarding the agricultural sector, but although they retain water, they still suffer from evaporation and muddying, or the deposition of solids inside them, which reduces their storage capacity.
In comments to Arab World Press, he explained that dams were very beneficial in terms of providing drinking water, noting that without them, Morocco would suffer greatly from thirst. But on the other hand, he said that the deposition of mud was due to poor management of the surrounding mountainous areas, which results from the problem of depletion of forests and vegetation in general.
Al-Shukri stressed that the dams have saved Morocco from long periods of drought, saying that this year the country almost fell into a major thirst problem had it not been for the recent rains.
According to the advisor on environmental issues and climate change, the Ibn Battuta Dam in the city of Tangier has reached the phase of “aging”, meaning that the degree of muddy water has attained very high levels.
In this regard, he called for the need to increase the number of hill dams, and work to expand citizens’ awareness of the importance of water conservation. He pointed that some residents of areas and villages adjacent to the dams carry out activities that negatively affect the water, such as cutting down trees, which causes a large percentage of mud.
Mohamed Benata, environmental coordinator in northern Morocco, said that despite the recent heavy rainfall, the country is still experiencing a drought crisis.
“If we compare recent periods to the 1960s, Morocco was able to provide 2,500 cubic meters of water for every citizen, but today the citizen does not have even 500 cubic meters of water available. This is due to the decrease in rainfall,” he remarked.
Agriculture in Morocco depends on water stored in dams, so Benata said that despite successive years of drought, Morocco still exports vegetables and fruits in difficult climatic conditions.
Morocco “began achieving record numbers in exports during the years of drought, and this is unreasonable. Because of this ill-advised water rationalization policy, most of the dams dried up, and even the underground water resources were depleted. If Morocco had lived through an additional year or two of drought, the citizen would have been forced to drink sea water,” the environmental expert warned.
Morocco has 153 large dams with a total capacity of 20 billion cubic meters, as well as 141 small and medium dams, and 15 seawater desalination plants with a production capacity of 192 million cubic meters, according to data from the Ministry of Equipment and Water.
