US EditionMorocco 'water highway' averts crisis in big cities but doubts over sustainability
- To combat a prolonged drought, Morocco inaugurated a $728 million "water highway" in August, designed to redirect surplus water from the Sebou River to meet the drinking water needs of Rabat and other urban areas.
- Morocco has been experiencing significant water stress, including a six-year drought, with annual water supply dropping from 18 billion cubic metres in the 1980s to five billion today, exacerbated by rising temperatures and increased evaporation.
- The 67-kilometer underground canal diverts water from a diversion dam in Kenitra, treats it, and transports it to supply residents of Rabat and Casablanca, preventing an estimated 12 million people from running out of water, according to senior agriculture ministry official Mahjoub Lahrache.
- Water Minister Nizar Baraka noted that 53% of rainfall occurs in just 7% of the national territory, and the current dry spell is the longest in the country's history, exceeding the typical three-year duration of previous cycles.
- Despite officials calling the project a success in averting an immediate water crisis, experts like researcher Abderrahim Handouf, who acknowledges the "water highway" was an effective solution in the absence of alternatives, and water and climate researcher Nabil El Mocayd, who referenced a 2020 study recommending scaling back the project, question its long-term sustainability in the face of climate change and the potential impact on northern water basins.
64 Articles
64 Articles
Morocco 'water highway' averts crisis in big cities
Morocco is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on tapping northern rivers to supply water to parched cities farther south but experts question the sustainability of the project in the face of climate change. The North African kingdom has spent $728 million so far on what it dubs a "water highway" to redirect the surplus flow of the Sebou River to meet the drinking water needs of capital Rabat and economic hub Casablanca, according to offici…
Morocco ’water highway’ averts crisis in big cities but doubts over sustainability
Morocco is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on tapping northern rivers to supply water to parched cities farther south but experts question the sustainability of the project in the face of climate change. The North African kingdom has spent $728 million so far on what it dubs a "water highway" to redirect the surplus flow of the Sebou River to meet the drinking water needs of capital Rabat and economic hub Casablanca, according to offici…
Morocco 'water highway' averts crisis in big cities but doubts over sustainability
Morocco is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on tapping northern rivers to supply water to parched cities farther south but experts question the sustainability of the project in the face of climate…
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