Over MAD 830 Mln to Ensure Continuity of Drinking Water Supply in Oum Er-Rbia Basin (Minister)

Beni Mellal – A funding of 836 million dirhams will be mobilized to ensure the continuity of drinking water supply in the basin of Oum Er-Rbia, said Monday in Beni Mellal, minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka.

As part of the participatory management of water resources in the region, a partnership agreement worth 836 million dirhams was signed for the financing and implementation of urgent and structural measures in the Oum Er-Rbia basin, said Baraka who chaired the proceedings of the Board of Directors of the Oum Er-Rbia River Basin Agency for the year 2021.

The ministry of Equipment and Water will ensure the implementation of this agreement through the acceleration of the pace of completion of the dams Tagzirth and Oued Lakhdar and the elevation of the dam Imfout, said the minister.

The agreement also provides for the programming of the realization of the Tioughza dam in the region of Azilal in 2027 and the construction of small dams and hill lakes in the basin of the Oum Er Rbia, while providing financial and technical support to the Oum Er-Rbia River Basin Agency for the implementation of urgent and exceptional measures for the supply of drinking water at the level of the basin, added Baraka.

Under the agreement, a desalination plant of sea water will be set up to ensure the supply of drinking water to the city of Safi, in addition to a desalination plant of sea water in the region of Casablanca-Settat to ensure the supply of drinking water in the region in satisfactory conditions, which will reduce the pressure on water resources in the basin, said the minister.

Baraka also cited, in this context, the realization of the project to link the northern and southern supply systems of Greater Casablanca to strengthen the capacity from the basin of Bouregreg (Dam Sidi Mohamed ben Abdallah), and reduce pressure on the basin of Oum Er Rbia, as well as the realization of the project to link the basins of Sebou, Bouregreg and Oum Er Rbia to transfer a total annual volume of water between 500 and 800 million m3 per year.

Among the measures planned in this direction, the minister also cited the continuation of efforts in the field of exploration of groundwater to mobilize additional water resources and meet the growing need for drinking water, and the continuation of efforts to strengthen the repair of water supply networks and increase their efficiency.