The second session of the ABHT board of directors, held under the chairmanship of the Secretary General of the Ministry Delegate in charge of Water, Abdellah El-Mahboul, was marked by the approval of the minutes of the first session for the year 2014, the action plan for the 2015 financial year, and the provisional budget for the same year. The Director of the ABHT, Abdelmajid Naimi, noted that an amount of 75 million dirhams (MDH) has been mobilised for the implementation of the various projects programmed in the said action plan, in addition to other projects to which a budget of 80 MDH has been allocated by the Ministry Delegate in charge of Water.

This plan, which is part of the 2013-2016 multi-year action programme, also covers projects already initiated by the Agency in coordination with its partners as part of the implementation of the National Water Strategy, he said. He added that the said plan is structured around numerous axes, including the strengthening of groundwater reconnaissance actions through surveys and wells, the organisation of monitoring and quantitative and qualitative assessment campaigns for groundwater and surface water, as well as the strengthening and modernisation of hydrological, piezometric, and flood warning measurement networks. Other actions are also planned by the plan. These include, among others, the continuation of ongoing studies for the development of the Haouz-Mejjate "Aquifer Contract" with the support of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). There is also the study of integrated water resource management plans for the Rhérhaya and Chichaoua basins with the support of the German Development Bank (KfW), as well as the strengthening of the flood forecasting and warning system with the technical participation of the Japan International Cooperation System (JICS).

In addition to the approval of the balance sheet and the action plan, several partnership agreements were adopted. They relate in particular to the protection of the populations of the Sidi Bouothmane Centre (Rhamna province) and the Haut Kasbah district against floods from Oued Tabarhant (Imintanout, Chichaoua province). The other agreements relate to the implementation of the sanitation and wastewater treatment project at the Oukaïmeden Centre (Al-Haouz province) and the Nouacer Douar under the rural commune of Sidi Bouzid (Chichaoua province), as well as the implementation of awareness campaigns on the rationalisation of water use, drought, and the preservation of groundwater among users and schoolchildren. This meeting was an opportunity for the various stakeholders to emphasise the need for good governance and the upgrading of the legislative and institutional arsenal to meet the challenges related to the mobilisation of water resources and also to face an increasingly growing demand for this invaluable commodity.

A constantly depleting resource

Water is a cornerstone in the socio-economic development of the Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz region, insofar as all activities revolve around this natural resource, including drinking water supply, irrigation, industrial units, and tourist infrastructure. The water resources of the region are relatively significant given in particular the proximity to the Atlas, however, it is to be regretted that despite this asset, these resources are experiencing an increasingly acute scarcity due to irrational management and overexploitation of the hydraulic potential.