Rabat – The Moroccan government is set to build one large dam and 20 small ones in the region of Casablanca-Settat, as part of the 2020-2027 national water plan.
The regional council of Casablanca-Settat made the announcement on Monday, February 3, at a communication meeting about the main regional projects included in the national water program.
The large dam will be downstream from the Al Massira dam, on the Oum Errabia river, about 150 kilometers south of Casablanca. The dam has a construction budget of MAD 500 million (about €47 million) and will have a capacity of 60 million cubic meters.
The smaller dams will be built throughout several provinces in the region, including 14 in Settat, four in El Jadida, one in Benslimane, and one in Berrechid.
The regional council also announced the construction of a new water desalination facility. The new station will produce 200,000 cubic meters of drinking water per day and will cost MAD 4 billion (around €376 million).
The projects aim to strengthen and secure the supply of drinking water, as well as improve the water networks in the region, especially in rural towns.
The National Office for Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) will carry out the projects, in collaboration with the water distribution companies Lydec, Radeej, and Radeec.
Other projects include the modernization and rehabilitation of the water supply systems, in order to improve their yields by 78% by 2027. The distribution companies will cover the costs of these projects, estimated at MAD 1.69 billion (around €159 million).
The projects would also achieve a water reserve autonomy of 24 hours across the whole region.
The program allocates an annual budget for an emergency plan to supply drinking water by tanker trucks to any population affected by drought.
Finally, the plan will improve liquid sanitation in nine cities and 108 rural centers, and support the reuse of wastewater through 15 projects, including seven projects for watering golf courses with treated wastewater. The final segment of the plan will cost around MAD 357 million (about €33.61 million).