Morocco’s dam reserves surge to 75.6% capacity as water storage more than doubles

Morocco’s dam reserves have recorded a dramatic improvement compared with a year ago, providing a significant boost to the country’s water security as temperatures begin to rise ahead of the summer season.

According to data released Wednesday by the Ministry of Equipment and Water, the kingdom’s dams held approximately 12.88 billion cubic meters of water, representing an overall fill rate of 75.64%. On the same date in 2025, reservoirs were filled to only 39.53% of capacity.

The sharp increase comes after years of drought-related pressure on the country’s water resources and is expected to provide critical support for household consumption and agricultural activities, despite higher evaporation rates typically associated with summer heat.

The data showed notable disparities among Morocco’s river basins, with northern and central regions posting the strongest recovery.

The Tensift basin recorded the highest fill rate nationwide at 94.61%, with water reserves totaling 192.21 million cubic meters, up from 57.76% a year earlier.

The Loukkos basin remained one of Morocco’s most strategic water reserves, holding nearly 1.77 billion cubic meters of water and reaching a fill rate of 90.68%.

The Bouregreg basin also posted a significant recovery, reaching 88.65% capacity compared with 47.57% during the same period last year.

The Sebou basin, which contains the country’s largest volume of stored water, reached 88.07% capacity, with reserves exceeding 4.72 billion cubic meters out of a total storage capacity of 5.37 billion cubic meters.

Further east, the Moulouya basin recorded a fill rate of 72.35%, totaling 507.55 million cubic meters, compared with 43.35% a year ago.

The Oum Er-Rbia basin experienced one of the most significant turnarounds, climbing to 65.87% capacity after registering just 11.97% during the same period in 2025.

Southern regions also showed improvement. The Souss-Massa basin surpassed the 50% threshold, reaching 53.94% capacity with nearly 390 million cubic meters of water, more than double last year’s level of 21.40%.

The Ziz-Ghris basin was the only watershed to post a slight decline, falling to 51.26% capacity from 57.84% a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the Draa-Oued Noun basin remained among the least-filled reservoirs in the country, with a fill rate of 38.53%.

The improved water reserves come as meteorological authorities forecast increasingly warm conditions across several regions of Morocco in the coming weeks, underscoring the importance of maintaining adequate water supplies for domestic, agricultural and industrial use.