Interconnection of the Sebou and Bouregreg basins: Government aims for one million m3 per day

The objective set by the Sebou and Bouregreg basins interconnection project is to reach one million M3 per day, stressed the Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch on Tuesday.

“The project to interconnect the Sebou and Bouregreg basins, whose first cubic meters of water have arrived in Rabat, aims to reach one million M3 per day, i.e. a volume of 360 million M3 per year,” said Akhannouch in a statement to the press, during a field visit to the Garde dam site, which included pumping station 1 and pumping station 2.

The visit comes after completion of the first phase of pumping motor installation, he said, noting that additional pumping motors will be added at a later date, with a view to achieving the flow rate set to ensure the transfer of water to Rabat and Casablanca.

This royal megaproject, which is part of the national program for drinking water supply and irrigation, aims to divert excess water from the Sebou basin, which was being lost to the Atlantic Ocean, to the Bouregreg basin to ensure the supply of drinking water to the Rabat-Casablanca axis, said the Head of Government.

This structural project was put in place thanks to considerable efforts undertaken by the government, on the instructions of King Mohammed VI, and in coordination with several ministerial departments, notably the Ministry of Public Works and Water, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Finance, as well as with the participation of numerous stakeholders who made a major contribution, he explained.

The project, which also benefited from the expertise of several world-renowned Moroccan companies, would normally have taken a minimum of 3 years, but was completed in 8 to 10 months, he said, noting that the work in progress is progressing apace and will be of great importance to the Rabat-Casablanca axis.

The project took around nine months to complete, and was gradually commissioned on August 24, 2023, to carry out the necessary tests on the equipment and divert water at an initial flow rate of no more than 3 cubic meters per second. The next stage will involve gradually increasing the water flow rate to 15 cubic metres per second, enabling the transfer of an annual volume of surplus water to the Sebou basin of between 350 and 400 million cubic metres.

With a total estimated cost of around 6 billion dirhams, this project includes a water catchment facility at the guard dam on the Oued Sebou, 67 km of steel canals with a diameter of 3200 mm, two pumping stations with a flow rate of 15 cubic meters per second, and a basin to convey the water to the Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdullah dam reservoir.