Water is becoming increasingly scarce in Morocco, drought due to climate change, the decline in the level of dams and groundwater … Have these findings changed our relationship with water? Not sure.
The irrational use of water is also one of the causes of the dramatic situation that Morocco is experiencing in this year 2022. A cause relegated to the background … which remains no less dramatic. Proof of this is the alarming data and figures presented on July 7 by Nizar Baraka, Minister of Equipment and Water, before the Committee on Infrastructure, Energy, Mines and Environment.
More than 230,000 unauthorized wells
Of 258,931 water points surveyed between March and May 2022 in 66 communes and provinces, only 22,519 are authorized, according to data provided by the Minister.
Unauthorized well development resulting in excessive groundwater use, as well as illegal pumping, results in the loss of large amounts of water before it can be used to meet drinking water needs.
In this regard, Nizar Baraka said Tuesday in the House of Councillors, his ministry will soon establish a single window to facilitate obtaining permits for digging wells. The objective is to identify the number of wells dug and their capacity in order to better manage the country’s water resources.
In Safi, it is necessary to convey the double of the need in drinking water
Another striking example revealed by Nizar Baraka: “To supply Safi with drinking water and industrial water, we must convey twice its need, or even more,” he said before the Committee on Infrastructure. “For the city of Safi to have a flow of 140,000 m3 of water per day, we must transport 540,000 m3/day, or twice the needs of the greater Marrakech in drinking water.
Regarding the snow surface, “it has significantly decreased at the level of the Kingdom during the period 2018-2022, from 45,000 km2 in 2018 to5,000 km2 in 2022, a decrease of about 89%.“
“The number of snow days has also dropped significantly, from 41 days in 2018 to 14 days in 2022, down 65%.“
Be the first to comment