His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah assist Him, chaired, on January 16, at the Royal Palace in Rabat, a working session devoted to water issues.
This meeting falls within the framework of the continuous monitoring and High solicitude with which His Majesty the King surrounds this strategic issue, particularly during the current situation which is marked by a notable deficit in terms of water resources.
The beginning of this working session witnessed the delivery of a presentation on the water situation by the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, which highlights, for the period from September to mid-January 2024, a rainfall deficit of 70% compared to the average, as well as a dam filling rate of 23.2% compared to 31.5% during the same period last year.
Baraka then proceeded to present before His Majesty the King the emergency action plan drawn up by the competent departments to deal with the current situation and ensure the supply of drinking water, particularly in cities, centers, and localities with a deficit.
This emergency action plan, which has been implemented at the level of the Kingdom’s various hydraulic systems, provides for a variety of measures including, in the short term, the optimal mobilization of resources at the level of dams, boreholes, and stations, and existing desalination plants, the construction of urgent water conveyance and supply equipment, and if necessary, the implementation of potential measures to restrict irrigation water or distribution flow rates.
In the same context, and in accordance with the High Royal Guidelines, there will be an acceleration in terms of planned projects with a medium-term impact, in particular the dams currently under construction, the interconnection between the Sebou, Bouregreg, and Oum Rabia, the national program of seawater desalination stations, the reuse of purified wastewater program, the water saving program at the level of supply and distribution networks for drinking and irrigation water.
In this regard, His Majesty the King urged the departments and organizations concerned to redouble their vigilance and efforts to meet the challenge of water security and ensure the supply of drinking water to all of the Kingdom’s regions, inviting the government to establish transparent and regular communication with citizens on recent developments regarding the water situation.
This working session took place in the presence of His Majesty the King’s Advisor, Fouad Ali El Himma, the Minister of the Interior, Abdelouafi Laftit, the Minister of Equipmen and Water, Nizar Baraka, the Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Mohamed Sadiki, the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Economy and Finance, in charge of the Budget, Fouzi Lekjaa, and the General Director of the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), Abderrahim El Hafidi.