As part of this bold response to the shortage of water resources, the province of El Jadida has equipped itself with monobloc seawater desalination stations and a fleet of tank trucks to distribute drinking water to the population of rural areas.
To date, El Jadida has two seawater desalination units already operational in addition to five others under construction. In addition, there are around 25 tanker trucks intended to supply drinking water to a population of around 70,000 inhabitants in several municipalities.
According to Mouhcine Moursli, responsible for drinking water at the Intercommunal Authority for the distribution of water, electricity and liquid sanitation in the provinces of El Jadida and Sidi Bennour (RADEEJ), the stations of Sidi El Abed and Tnine Chtouka were carried out as part of the first phase of the project to build 40 monobloc stations at the national level, launched by the Ministry of the Interior.
In a statement to the press during a field visit, he explained that the Tnine Chtouka water desalination unit has a flow rate of 380 cubic meters (m3) per day, while the Sidi El Abed produces more than 780 m3 of water per day.
The second phase of this structuring project concerns more than 200 monobloc stations nationally, he noted, specifying that the province of El Jadida will benefit from five new stations in the communes of Azemmour, Sidi Ali, Lamharza Essahel, Ouled Aïssa and Ouled Ghanem.
Addressing the desalination process, Mr. Moursli said that the treatment process begins with the collection of seawater from boreholes, followed by a pretreatment operation via sand basins, then a phase desalination by reverse osmosis, making it possible to produce high quality drinking water.
He noted that drinking water is stored in tanks with a capacity of 50 cubic meters, before being supplied to the beneficiary villages by tanker trucks, numbering 25 with a capacity of 4 to 12 m3.
On this subject, El Mouqri El Idrissi, head of the local authorities division in the province of El Jadida, specified that the province received, in a first phase from the Ministry of the Interior, a total of 25 trucks tanks with a tonnage of 4 to 12 T. These trucks supply water to 146 douars spread across 21 municipalities in the province which is experiencing shortages.
Around 2,200 cubic meters of water are distributed daily, benefiting around 70,000 douars residents who suffer from water shortages in wells or an increase in water salinity, he added.
Six new additional high-capacity tank trucks will be made available to the province by the Ministry of the Interior, he continued, specifying that these new trucks will increase the volume of water distributed and increase the number of beneficiaries to 80,000 inhabitants.
However, beyond the efforts made in terms of infrastructure to secure water resources, the rationalization of water use remains essential to face the risks facing populations, particularly in rural areas.
For Mr. El Idrissi, populations suffering from water shortages are more aware than ever of the obligation to adopt good reflexes to preserve water resources and fight against excessive use of water in irrigation. In this sense, he called on citizens and all stakeholders concerned, in cities and rural areas, to preserve this vital resource, because the security of present and future generations is at stake.
Morocco, in accordance with the High Royal Guidelines, has launched in recent years a series of strategic and ambitious projects for the constant supply of drinking water for the entire population, while satisfying irrigation needs.
Among these achievements are the acquisition of 44 desalination and demineralization monoblocks as well as the launch of 219 monoblock stations to mobilize a volume of more than 70 Mm3/year, with a view to strengthening the security of drinking water in localities located in rural areas. . It also involves the acquisition of 1,209 tank trucks and 9,717 plastic tanks and the mobilization of a significant budget for the rental of tank trucks with a view to ensuring the supply of drinking water to a population of around 3 million. of inhabitants located in rural areas affected by water deficit.