Baraka says record inflows forced emergency dam releases to prevent flooding

Morocco’s minister of equipment and water said Wednesday that unprecedented water inflows into several major dams forced authorities to carry out large-scale releases to prevent flooding and protect infrastructure.

Nizar Baraka said the total storage capacity of the Oued Al-Makhazine dam is 672 million cubic meters, while water inflows reached 1.462 billion cubic meters during the recent period of heavy rainfall.

“Even if the dam were emptied twice, there would still be surplus water,” Baraka said during the weekly press briefing of the government’s official spokesperson. He said the primary concern was protecting residents from floods and safeguarding the dam itself by regulating water flows to avoid dangerous levels downstream.

Baraka stressed that the main role of dams is to reduce risks to citizens, store water for drinking supplies, irrigation and hydropower, and regulate discharges to limit flood damage.

In the Loukkos river basin, he said inflows totaled 1.062 billion cubic meters, noting that 1.031 billion cubic meters entered the system in just the past 15 days. That surge made dam releases unavoidable, he said, even as stored volumes reached 1.117 billion cubic meters, or 166% of normal capacity.

Baraka said the situation was managed through preventive measures, including preemptive water releases, hourly monitoring and hydrological simulations to anticipate rainfall and inflows. Authorities relied on three forecasting models to verify projections and prepared flood-risk maps that were shared with local authorities, based on detailed data from the national meteorological service.

Regarding the Al Wahda dam, Baraka said total inflows reached 3.48 billion cubic meters, including 1.4 billion cubic meters in a single week. That forced authorities to increase discharge rates from 200 cubic meters per second to 2,200, before reducing them to 1,300 cubic meters per second. Flows are expected to be lowered further to 800 cubic meters per second after Friday, he said.

Baraka also addressed the postponement of a draft decree on dam classification and safety monitoring, saying it was delayed to align with additional regulatory texts to ensure greater coordination and a comprehensive approach to dam management.

The recent floods highlighted the need for greater flexibility in dam operations and a review of administrative management practices, he said. Authorities plan to update flood-prone area maps, improve hydrological modeling and develop new risk maps.

On infrastructure damage, Baraka said flooding affected 168 road sections nationwide. Of those, 124 have been reopened, while 44 remain closed. The affected regions include Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, Fez-Meknes, Marrakech-Safi, Souss-Massa, Casablanca-Settat, Béni Mellal-Khénifra and the Oriental region.

Most road closures were caused by rising water levels, affecting 119 sections, while 49 others were damaged by landslides, rockfalls and soil erosion, particularly in rural areas, Baraka said. Emergency interventions are underway to reopen roads, restore access and ensure traffic safety, pending longer-term reconstruction based on updated engineering studies.

Baraka reiterated earlier warnings about climate change, saying Morocco must adapt road construction and infrastructure standards to withstand more extreme weather events, including both prolonged droughts and severe flooding.