The underground water table represents the main source of drinking water supply for the inhabitants of the Guelmim province. However, its deficit due to an increasing demand for water consumption does not allow it to meet the growing needs for this vital commodity, driven by accelerated population growth and the development of the agricultural sector.

Notwithstanding the achievements made in the province over the last two decades to mobilise water resources, the rise in demand for this commodity will lead to an increase in the exploitation of groundwater from the Guelmim hydraulic basin, which lacks surface water resources.

The regional delegation of the Souss-Massa-Drâa Hydraulic Basin Agency in Guelmim indicates that the water table of this basin is experiencing, due to this increasing demand combined with the scarcity of rainfall, an annual deficit amounting to 3 million m3, causing an annual drop in the groundwater level of up to 1 metre.

According to the delegation's data, future drinking water needs in Guelmim by 2015 are estimated at 9 million m3, against current resources estimated at 6 million m3.

In order to preserve the water table for future generations within the framework of sustainable development, the Hydraulic Basin Agency has adopted several measures, notably the development of an Integrated Water Resources Management Master Plan (PRAIRE) for the Guelmim basin in a partnership framework with all stakeholders in the water sector. The objective is to manage supply through the use of surface water, water conservation, its valorisation, and the promotion of the principle of good governance, via the development of a "water table contract" involving all users (agricultural and domestic) in the proper management of this vital commodity.

The agency has also developed a programme extending until 2015 concerning the drilling of wells in rural and mountainous areas, the diagnosis of dams in the province, the finalisation of the rainwater harvesting master plan, the carrying out of studies on the artificial recharge of the water table, the desalination of brackish water, and protection against flooding, at a cost of 21.5 million dirhams.

Within the framework of prospecting for alternative resources, the Hydraulic Basin Agency has undertaken a study on the desalination of brackish water and the implementation of a project for its treatment, with the possibility of connecting it to the Guelmim city supply network, pending the construction of the two dams "Fask" and "Assaka". According to the agency, these will not only meet drinking water needs for the next three decades but will also contribute to the development of agriculture in the region and the recharge of the Guelmim basin's water table.

According to this study, carried out by the Ministry of Energy, Mines, Water and Environment, the reservoir of the "Assaka" dam, the only outlet for floodwaters from the Sayad, Noun, and Oum Laâchar wadis at the foot of the Anti-Atlas mountains, is estimated at a volume of 65 million m3, while the reservoir of the "Fask" dam amounts to 31 million m3.

According to a document on the updating of the Integrated Water Resources Management Master Plan (PRAIRE) for the Guelmim hydraulic basin, other accompanying measures are planned, notably the desalination of seawater in view of the implementation of the "Plage Blanche" seaside resort project, and the reuse of wastewater for the irrigation of agricultural land and green belts, in line with the national sanitation programme for urban centres.

These projects aim to ensure a balance between the growing demand for drinking water and the needs of the agricultural sector in the Guelmim province, whose population will reach some 178,000 people by 2015, according to demographic projections.