Casablanca – Celebrated on 22 March each year, World Water Day 2025 is themed "Preserving Glaciers". The objective is to draw public attention to the situation of the 2.2 billion people worldwide who lack access to safe water and to call for action to combat the global water crisis.
Through this day, the United Nations aims in particular to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6): access to water and sanitation for all by 2030.
On the sidelines of this day, the Regional Multiservice Company (SRM) Casablanca-Settat is presenting its actions and projects aimed at securing the Region's drinking water supply. In a context of water stress, and as part of its 2025 investment programme, the SRM Casablanca-Settat plans to launch 211 drinking water projects for a total investment of 5.3 billion DH.
Securing the drinking water supply for the entire Region
The regional company has scheduled the construction of 12 water reservoirs distributed throughout the Casablanca-Settat Region, with an investment of 155 million DH excluding tax planned for this year. With an overall additional volume of 277,000 mÂł, these reservoirs will increase the storage capacity of the SRM Casablanca-Settat by more than 22%, reaching over 1.1 million mÂł of water.
The latter will also launch the project to secure the Region's drinking water supply from the future Casablanca desalination plant for a total investment of 2.15 billion DH excluding tax. This project, scheduled over a two-year period, will ensure the Region's water supply from the new plant, with an ultimate capacity of 300 million mÂł per year. The work will consist of laying 118 km of supply pipes with diameters ranging from 600 mm to 1,800 mm, two water reservoirs at Sahel Oulad H’riz (Berrechid Province) with storage capacities of 30,000 mÂł and 60,000 mÂł, as well as two pumping stations with capacities of 6,000 l/s and 9,800 l/s.
Furthermore, faced with the challenges of water stress, exacerbated by the effects of climate change and demographic pressure, the State has decided to prioritise securing the drinking water supply for populations in the most vulnerable regions. An urgent programme has thus been launched to meet immediate needs while strengthening the resilience of territories against water scarcity. For the Casablanca-Settat region, the project led by the SRM consists of building 33 monoblock desalination and brackish water demineralisation stations with a total capacity of 255 l/s, equivalent to 8 million mÂł per year. With a budget of 400 million DH, the project is currently being deployed, with 11 monoblock stations already commissioned (six in Settat province, two in Berrechid province, two in Sidi Bennour province, and one in El Jadida province) out of the 33 planned.
A sustained action plan for detecting and repairing water leaks
The SRM Casablanca-Settat has implemented a sustained action plan aimed at detecting and repairing water leaks in the network and connections, combating fraud, and modulating water pressure. To carry out this plan, the company relies on a range of innovative technologies, namely: the "Aquadvanced" tool, sectorisation, "Smart Ball" technology for leak detection on feeders, and acoustic pre-locators with Radio technology...
For example, in the prefectures of Casablanca and Mohammedia, the SRM Casablanca-Settat has 31 teams specialised in leak detection and sectorisation of the drinking water network, as well as a fleet of 3,600 fixed acoustic leak pre-locators. Focused on improving network performance, the action plan launched by the SRM Casablanca-Settat since October 2024 has saved more than 3.5 million mÂł of water by the end of February 2025. Leak detection covered approximately 19,500 km of the distribution network, which is nearly 2.5 times the total length of the existing network. In just four months, the regional company has "listened" to nearly 7,900 km of networks. In total, 1,971 leaks were detected (410 on pipes and 1,561 on connections and metering stations) and repaired during this period. Also, 12 km of transport pipes (feeders) were inspected and 13 leaks were detected.
The SRM Casablanca-Settat opens its doors for awareness visits on water preservation
As part of its commitment to the sustainable development of the Region, the SRM Casablanca-Settat conducts awareness-raising activities on water and environmental preservation. The doors of the regional company are, in fact, open for awareness visits to its various facilities for school students, civil society representatives, and elected officials.
Since the beginning of the year, several guided tours of the MĂ©diouna Wastewater Treatment Plant (STEP) have been organised for hundreds of students. These educational visits aim to raise participants' awareness of the water cycle, particularly the importance of reusing treated wastewater for watering green spaces, and to encourage them to adopt "eco-gestures" in their daily lives for rational and responsible water use.
Drinking water in the Casablanca-Settat Region in figures:
• +23,263 km of drinking water distribution network;
• 267 drinking water reservoirs with a total capacity of 908,207 m³;
• 128 pumping and booster stations.
This article World Water Day: SRM Casablanca-Settat committed to sustainable water resource management first appeared on MAP Express.
