Water security: The salvific effect of the Royal dam strategy [FULL]

Following a succession of years with low rainfall, Morocco is currently going through one of the worst droughts in its recent history. In the countryside as in the cities, water, once abundant in certain regions, is becoming a rare commodity to be managed as closely as possible, especially since between 2018 and 2024, arid seasons have generated deficits reaching up to 85% compared to the annual average. And while the Kingdom's water resources are estimated at 22 billion m3, their distribution remains very unbalanced - with 7% of the territory concentrating more than 53% of rainfall -, accentuating the pressure on entire regions that are already vulnerable.
 
Faced with this shock that undermines the satisfaction of vital needs in terms of mobilising sufficient quantities of water to satisfy various uses, Morocco is not starting from scratch and can boast of having significant hydraulic infrastructure already established thanks to the enlightened vision of the late His Majesty Hassan II, who had launched the vast project of building dams very early on. The Kingdom's water security has since continued, under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, to constitute a strategic and priority project in view of the various advances made over the last two decades. This policy constitutes a fundamental lever in strengthening Morocco's water resilience, affirmed the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, during a conference organised last Thursday by our colleagues at Médias24. The result: the country has 154 large dams, representing a storage capacity of 20.7 billion m³, as well as 150 small and medium-sized structures. An arsenal that testifies to the State's commitment to guaranteeing every citizen safe and equitable access to water.
 

 
However, these dams, whose beneficial effects have been undeniable for more than forty years, no longer constitute the only lever of the national offensive against water stress. "A real paradigm shift has taken place in water policy," stressed Nizar Baraka, explaining that it is no longer just a matter of mobilising conventional resources, but of adopting an approach based on a water mix. This new vision articulates conventional and non-conventional resources, sobriety in water use, and the preservation of groundwater. A shift that has become essential, when we know that the water allocation per inhabitant has gone from 2,560 m³ per year in 1960 to only 600 m³ today - well below the water stress threshold established by the UN at 1,000 m³ per inhabitant per year.
 
As part of its new water policy, the Kingdom is making seawater desalination a strategic pillar, with the ambition of ensuring a production of 1.7 billion m³ by 2030. "Seventeen desalination plants have already been set up, for a current capacity of 320 million cubic metres (Mm³), compared to only 40 Mm³ in 2021," indicated the minister, also Secretary General of the Istiqlal Party, adding that this capacity should reach 532 Mm³ with the projects currently underway, such as the Dakhla station, the new Safi facility, or the extension of existing units. A capacity of 900 Mm³/year will also be added thanks to the titanic partnership with the United Arab Emirates. "If we have a massive programme of desalination plants today, it is above all thanks to the Royal will to ensure the Kingdom's water security and to this important agreement which involves an investment of 14 billion dollars," welcomed Nizar Baraka. At the same time, the Kingdom is deploying a vast programme of monoblock desalination and demineralisation units, for a total of 244 stations, 32 of which are already operational.
 
The minister's presentation also highlights some 300 rainwater harvesting projects that are underway in 21 provinces, combined with desilting programmes to preserve the capacity of the dams. The supervisory authority also seeks to reach 100 Mm³/year of reuse of treated wastewater by 2027. The Oasis programme (2024-2028) provides for 22 artificial recharge projects in the south-east of the country.
 

 
"We will also produce the renewable energies necessary for the realisation of these projects," the minister pointed out, specifying that of the 1.7 billion cubic metres planned via desalination, 500 million will be reserved for irrigation and agriculture. The most striking thing about the said project is that the renewable energy, mainly produced in the south of the country, will be transported to the north thanks to a 1,400-kilometre power line with a capacity of 3,000 megawatts.
 
This shows to what extent Morocco now integrates its water policy into a "water-renewable energy-food security nexus" logic. The challenge is to guarantee the country's water supply sustainably, while anticipating demographic pressures, economic requirements, and the impacts of climate change. To do this, ten Integrated Water Resources Management Master Plans (PDAIRE) have been validated, offering a territorialised, fine, and updated vision of available resources, identified needs, and intervention priorities.
 
At the same time, the revision of the National Water Plan is based on a series of in-depth studies. From the diagnosis of mobilisable resources to the development of roadmaps to balance supply and demand, through the identification of sectoral needs, or the analysis of forecast balances, the supervisory authority is looking at an optimisation model to cope with a particularly fragile hydro-climatic context.
 
This planning dynamic is also accompanied by institutional and legal reforms, in order to provide the water sector with a more integrated, efficient, and resilient framework, capable of ensuring Morocco's water sovereignty for future generations.
 
 

A cornerstone of the Kingdom's strategic project to strengthen water security, the basin interconnection projects, to remedy the problem of drinking water and irrigation deficits in certain regions, have also allowed the Kingdom to manage periods of severe water stress. Water transfer projects are continuing after the remarkable success of the priority tranche which made it possible to connect the guard dam at the level of the Sebou hydraulic basin to the Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah (SMBA) dam located in the Bouregreg hydraulic basin. The first stage already makes it possible to ensure a substantial part of the drinking water supply for Rabat and its region. The transfer of water over a distance of 67 kilometres now makes it possible to transport a flow of 15 m³/s for a transferable volume of between 300 and 400 Mm³/year. The objective is to increase the transfer flow from 15 m³/s (cubic metres per second) to 45 m³/s.
 
Water transfer projects, particularly between surplus basins and deficit basins, will complement the infrastructure dedicated to the mobilisation of non-conventional resources. For Nizar Baraka, all these solutions are part of a new logic of territorial solidarity. While, historically, rural areas supplied coastal cities with water, we are now witnessing a reversal of this dynamic. Thanks to desalination, it is now the coastal cities that will be able to transfer part of their resources to rural areas. A major development that will not only support the development of the rural world, but also consolidate the country's food sovereignty.

Aware of the strategic stakes that the issue of water represents for sustainable development, the Sovereign placed it at the heart of national priorities from the moment of His enthronement. Continuing the visionary dam policy launched by the late His Majesty Hassan II, His Majesty King Mohammed VI has given a new impetus to this strategy, allowing Morocco to better resist climatic hazards, where several countries in the region are suffering the full consequences.
 
To foresee, to anticipate, to show solidarity, and to guarantee territorial justice: these are the guiding principles set by the Sovereign to ensure an equitable distribution of water resources throughout the national territory. Under the reign of HM Mohammed VI, 62 dams have been built. In addition to this infrastructure, 14 new large dams are currently under construction in six regions of the country, representing a total capacity of approximately 4.8 billion cubic metres. Seven other dams are scheduled beyond 2027. Furthermore, several medium-sized dam and hill reservoir projects are also under construction or in preparation.
 
Today, 56% of the 62 dams built contribute to the Kingdom's drinking water supply, the most notable of which is undoubtedly the Tidass dam located in Khémisset, south-west of the capital. With a storage capacity of 507 million m³, this infrastructure, whose budget is estimated at 867 million dirhams, contributes to the irrigation of more than 4,600 ha in the region, while supplying drinking water to some 141,000 inhabitants. That said, for all the Kingdom's dams, irrigation remains the main destination for these resources, mobilising more than 72% of the volumes, compared to only 11.3% for energy production.
 
Certain regions stand out both by the number of dams and by their storage capacity. Thus, the regions of Béni Mellal–Khénifra, Marrakech–Safi, the Oriental, Rabat–Salé–Kénitra, and Tanger–Tétouan–Al Hoceima each have between 7 and 8 dams. In terms of storage capacity, Rabat–Salé–Kénitra is in the lead with more than 1.6 billion cubic metres, followed by Drâa–Tafilalet (more than 1.18 billion) and Fès–Meknès (more than 1 billion).