It is in this perspective of preserving water resources and mitigating the impact of water stress, in accordance with the High Royal Directives in this area, that the REUSE project dedicated to the recovery of wastewater for irrigation needs in Tangier is part of.
Operating from the Boukhalef wastewater treatment plant (STEP) and with a treatment capacity of 42,700 m3/day, this project extends over a network covering an area of 355 hectares, or nearly 75% of the city’s green spaces. It results in a water saving of approximately 2.4 Mm3 each year, equivalent to the drinking water consumption of a city of more than 75,000 inhabitants.
The operator Amendis, responsible for managing the project, plans to extend the treated wastewater reuse network by nearly 95 km, as well as the creation of five new pumping stations and the strengthening of the Assilah Marina Golf WWTP.
In a statement to MAP, Abdelaziz Belhaj, operational director at Amendis Tangier, noted that the operator is working on three axes: the reuse of treated wastewater for watering green spaces, improving the performance of the drinking water distribution network and raising awareness of the preservation of this vital resource.
The Boukhalef WWTP (1st axis), inaugurated by HM King Mohammed VI in October 2015, has enabled the reuse of nearly 9 Mm3 since its commissioning, the objective being to achieve three Mm3 of annual savings from 2024.
Regarding the 2nd axis, Mr. Belhaj specified that the efficiency of drinking water distribution networks reached 79%, one of the highest averages in the Kingdom, noting that this performance is due to the introduction of new technologies in network management, the repair and renewal of pipelines, as well as the use of advanced water pressure management equipment.
According to him, Amendis also works in close collaboration with the associative network to raise awareness among citizens about water preservation, through workshops, information campaigns and activities aimed at schoolchildren and young people.
For her part, the head of the water quality monitoring laboratory in Amendis, Aziza Dardar, highlighted the laboratory’s main mission in terms of analyzing water quality from its mobilization and storage to its distribution for watering green spaces, according to strict national standards.
Nearly 60 parameters are analyzed for each sample, or some 9,000 parameters analyzed annually, she said.
“It is these analyses which make it possible to ensure the conformity and quality of the water distributed for watering green spaces,” she stressed.
In accordance with the High Royal Guidelines, a series of strategic projects to respond to the challenges posed by the water problem was launched within the framework of the National Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation Program (PNAEPI) for an execution period ranging from 2020 to 2027.
These projects were also accompanied by the implementation of several urgent actions, launched since 2020, mainly aimed at securing the drinking water supply for the entire population of the Kingdom, in particular the completion of several wastewater reuse projects to reach a volume of 37 million cubic meters per year for the watering of 31 golf courses and green spaces in 17 cities and the launch of a very ambitious complementary program to mobilize 137 million cubic meters by 2027 to water the remaining 19 golf courses as well as other projects for agricultural and industrial uses in particular.
2024-08-31 12:32:32