Morocco’s dams are holding far more water than last summer, but some residents are still losing water at the tap as a heatwave pushes demand through pipes and local networks that are failing in parts of the country.
Disruptions have hit parts of Fes and Meknes, where an operator cited a damaged pipe from the Idriss I dam; Douar Oulad Jilali near Ksar El Kebir, where residents protested after water was cut to their homes; and housing developments around Casablanca’s Sidi Maarouf, where households have complained of repeated outages.
Equipment and Water Minister Nizar Baraka told lawmakers in June that 30% to 40% of drinking water is lost in distribution networks
In fes, the regional multiservice company said a fault on June 19 hit a main pipe carrying water from Idriss I dam, affecting water volumes from the dam and disrupted supply in parts of Fes and Meknes for several days.
In the north, residents of Douar Oulad Jilali in the Souk Tolba commune near Ksar El Kebir protested on July 6 outside the regional multiservice company office after water was cut to their homes.
Baraka said Morocco had reached 100% access to drinking water in urban areas, with 94% of urban households connected individually, while rural access stood at 98%, but only 40% of rural households had individual connections.
Baraka also told lawmakers in June that 1,400 tanker trucks had been mobilized to supply rural populations with drinking water, while saying the issue required a structural solution that was already being planned.
In Casablanca, complaints point to distribution in fast-growing neighborhoods, with residents of housing developments around Sidi Maarouf reporting repeated cuts in May, with some saying water stopped for hours at a time.
The cuts have come during successive heat alerts, with temperatures forecast above 40 degrees Celsius in several provinces.
Dams were 74.33% full on June 20, nearly double the 38.71% recorded on the same date last year, according to figures reported from the Ministry of Equipment and Water’s monitoring platform.
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