While Morocco has seen a year-on-year improvement in dam filling rates, overall water reserves continue to decline due to persistent heat and evaporation.
According to updated data from the Ministry of Equipment and Water, as of Saturday, July 5, the national dam filling rate reached 37.51%, up from 30.14% at the same time last year.
Currently, Moroccan dams hold about 6.29 billion cubic meters of water, out of a maximum capacity of nearly 16.76 billion, a modest improvement of 7.37 percentage points over July 2024, but still far below comfortable thresholds.
This increase masks structural fragilities. The country remains in a state of mild water stress, exacerbated by evaporation and siltation, which further reduce actual storage capacity.
Dam levels vary widely across the country’s nine major river basins. For instance, Bouregreg and Loukkos report relatively high fill rates of 64% and 57.13%, respectively. In the Oriental region, the Moulouya basin stands at 35.68%, with key dams like Mohammed V (39%), Méchraâ Hammadi (66.19%), and Oued Za (100%) offering some relief.
The Sebou basin, Morocco’s largest, currently holds 2.78 billion m³, with an overall fill rate near 50%. Al Wahda Dam, the country’s largest, accounts for over 1.9 billion m³, playing a vital role in regional agricultural stability.
In contrast, central and southern regions face critical shortages. The Oum Er-Rbia basin has dropped to just 11.44%, despite spring rainfall, while the Souss-Massa and Drâa-Oued Noun basins stand at 20% and 34%, respectively.
Water inflows remain worryingly low. At the start of summer, dam inputs were only 2.64 million m³, while withdrawals reached 14.57 million m³.
Experts stress the urgency of accelerating desalination projects and inter-basin transfers to promote national water solidarity. They also call for stricter water-use policies, especially in agriculture, and emphasize investment in groundwater recharge and alternative resources, with desalinated water seen as a key solution.
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