After dam fill levels shrank to alarmingly low levels at the end of 2023, substantial rainfall in various regions of Morocco over the last few days has replenished its dams and reservoirs in total to around 4392.9 million cubic meters, a 27.2% increase.
While the overall surge is good news for the kingdom, it falls short of the typical fill rate year on year, more than 7% short of the peak reservoir fill rate of 34.7%. Indeed, during March, overall reservoir fill levels declined by more than 2%.
Currently, five of Morocco’s dams are operating at full capacity, including the Chefchaouen Dam, Charif Al Idrissi Dam, Nakhla Dam, Oued Za Dam, and Bouhouda Dam. Two others, the Allal Fassi Dam and Sidi Driss Dam, are at more than 90% capacity.
In the Moulouya region in northeast Morocco, major dams experienced a 27.42% filling rate, attributed by the Moulouya Basin Water Agency to recent rainfall.
Specifically, the Mohammed V Dam is at 26% capacity (42.837 million cubic meters), Oued Za Dam is at 53% (118.947 million cubic meters), Mechraa Hommadi Dam is at 60% (2.806 million cubic meters), Tamalout Dam is at 16% (7.252 million cubic meters), Enjil Dam is at 7% (0.645 million cubic meters), and Hassan II Dam is at 14% (48.292 million cubic meters).
Director General of Hydraulics at the Ministry of Equipment and Water Hamou Bensaadout announced an increase of 65 million cubic meters in Moroccan water reserves as of Sunday. Previously, the dams were operating at only 23% due to the severe drought that has plagued Morocco for the past forty years.
With Morocco’s current calculated water availability of 600 cubic meters per person annually, the kingdom already falls below the water scarcity threshold of 1,700 cubic meters per person per year set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
This situation has placed Morocco in a state of “structural water stress,” as highlighted in a concerning report from the World Bank on the Moroccan economy.
To address water scarcity challenges, Morocco has started building twenty seawater desalination plants that are intended to be operational by 2030 to meet its drinking water requirements, according to the Ministry of Equipment.
Over 82% of water in Morocco is utilized for agricultural purposes, underscoring the need for a reevaluation of the current water management model, which is deemed by experts to be antiquated.