Morocco’s water reserves have rebounded sharply after three months of heavy rain and snowfall, easing pressure on supplies after years of drought, the government said on Tuesday.
Speaking in parliament, Nizar Baraka, minister of equipment and water, said rainfall between September and 20 January reached 121.5 millimetres, an increase of 114 percent compared with the same period last year and 24 percent above the long-term average.
“The rainfall we have recorded has, on average, secured one additional year of drinking water across the country’s river basins,” Baraka told lawmakers.
The impact is most visible in dam reserves. Inflows since September totalled just over 4 billion cubic metres, including 3.6 billion cubic metres in the past 40 days alone, pushing national dam filling rates from 28 percent to 48 percent.
Snowfall has also played a key role. Baraka said snow cover peaked at 55,000 square kilometres, the widest extent since 2018, before retreating to about 22,600 square kilometres.
Several basins that were among the hardest hit by drought have seen significant recoveries. The Oum Er-Rbia basin rose from 200 million cubic metres to 1.18 billion, lifting its filling rate from 5 percent to 24 percent, while some large and medium-sized dams reached full capacity and required controlled releases.
In the Souss-Massa basin, reserves climbed to 382 million cubic metres, equivalent to a 52 percent filling rate, securing at least another year of drinking water. In the Draa-Tafilalet region, Baraka said the Hassan Addakhil dam’s filling rate reached 72 percent, ensuring supply for more than two years.
The minister said the government would accelerate dam construction projects and expand emergency road and water access works, particularly in mountain areas affected by snow and flooding.
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