2024-04-18 04:09:07
This meeting, chaired by the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, in the presence of the wali of the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, Younes Tazi, the president of the Regional Council, the president of the Hydraulic Basin Council of Loukkos, elected officials and representatives of professional bodies and external services, was devoted to the approval of the Agency’s accounts for the year 2022 and the examination of the results of its action, as well as the progress in implementing its 2023 program, in addition to the presentation of its action program for 2024.
Speaking at the opening of the work of this Board of Directors, Mr. Baraka underlined the importance of water and its strategic place in all sectors, as a fundamental pillar of the accelerated economic and social development experienced by the Morocco.
After emphasizing the exceptional climatic situation in our country, which has worsened in recent years, particularly with the accentuation of the lack of rainfall and its negative repercussions on the water supply of most sectors, the minister affirmed that the government has adopted an anticipatory policy to continue to mobilize this vital commodity in a sustainable manner and to ensure its supply under satisfactory conditions.
In this context, Mr. Baraka affirmed that the ABHL area of action experienced, during the hydrological year 2022-2023, an overall deficit of around 35% in comparison with the normal annual average, which negatively affected water supplies at the region’s dam reservoirs.
“Until March 1, 2024, the current hydrological year experienced a 35% deficit in precipitation, compared to the average for the same period. This situation has negatively affected the filling of the dams in this basin, recording as of March 1, a rate of 42.7%, compared to 59.4% on the same date last year,” he continued.
Alongside this situation, Mr. Baraka affirmed that several measures have been taken, in particular those concerning the security of the supply of drinking and industrial water to towns and rural localities, under normal conditions, in addition to the implementation of circulars and orders from Walis and Governors for monitoring the state of water resources in the basin and encouraging water saving, noting that tank trucks were used to support the supply of drinking water in the deficit rural areas.
The drinking water supply to the town of Oued Laou was also strengthened, from the underground water table of Oued Laou, and the water supply to the Dar Khrofa irrigation perimeter was reduced from 60 to 22 million cubic meters for the agricultural year 2023-2024, depending on the water reserve, explained the minister, stressing that the town of Imzouren was connected to two operating boreholes with a flow rate of 80 l /s in 2024.
Added to this is the strengthening of control by the water police and the suspension of the granting of authorizations for drilling and water points at groundwater level, he continued.
The minister assured that in view of the difficulties that could result from this exceptional situation to meet all water needs, the government focused on the implementation of structuring projects in the Loukkos basin, through the pursuit of the completion of several projects, including the launch of the project to transfer water from the Oued Al Makhazine dam to the Dar Khrofa dam for securing the drinking water supply of Greater Tangier, and the launch of the implementation study of the seawater desalination station with a capacity of 70 million m3 to strengthen the drinking water supply of the city of Tangier.
Added to this is the installation of floating barges at the Dar Khrofa, Kharroub, Mohammed ben AbdelKrim Al Khattabi and Rhiss dams and the carrying out of knowledge and exploitation drilling in rural areas, as well as the continuation of efforts to the development of aquifer contracts for participatory and sustainable management of groundwater resources for each of the Charaf El Akab aquifers, the Mediterranean coastal aquifer and Rhiss -Nekkor, as well as the acceleration of the construction of the Rhiss dam to secure the the supply of drinking water to the Al Hoceima system and the programming of the construction of the Ayacha dam in the province of Larache, with a storage capacity of 118 million m3 and 3 small dams in the Agency’s area of action, in addition to continuing to carry out projects to reuse treated wastewater for watering green spaces.
Regarding the area of flood protection, Mr. Baraka highlighted that important projects have been launched to reduce the effects of flooding in different cities, large towns and rural centers, noting that among these projects are the program emergency project for the protection of the city of Tangier against floods 2022-2025, with an estimated cost of 310 million dirhams (MDH), and the flood protection project for the commune of Gueznaya, in the prefecture of Tangier-Assilah, (2022-2024), at a cost of around 150 MDH.
For his part, the Wali of the region affirmed that this meeting was an opportunity for all institutional and elected stakeholders to deliberate on all issues related to the exploitation of water and to identify the difficulties and needs. in terms of water management, while trying to find practical and effective solutions to face the challenges posed.
In this regard, he urged all stakeholders to redouble their efforts to address the water shortage experienced by certain areas of the region and ensure rational management of water resources, whether in the agricultural sector. or by the inhabitants of the region, with the aim of implementing integrated water resources management plans and achieving sustainable development which takes into consideration the interests of the population and supports the development experienced by the region.
The council also approved ten partnership agreements relating in particular to the protection against flooding of the Ajdir plain in the province of Al Hoceima, the town of Ouezzane and the center of the commune of Ksar Sghir, the carrying out of drilling recognition and other exploitation, the development of an atlas of areas threatened by flooding in the Loukkos basin, the completion of the flood protection plan project in the prefecture of Tangier, as well as the completion of the program of reforestation of the limits of the public hydraulic domain of dams, and the reuse of treated wastewater for watering green spaces in the city of Al Hoceima.
In addition, a draft concession contract, in relation to the use of the public hydraulic domain of the Tanger Med dam reservoir for the installation of a floating solar panel station, was the subject of deliberations during this advice.
During these deliberations, the members of the Council recommended the need to digitize all the services provided by the Agency to support and meet the needs of users, simplify certain procedures, seek additional financial resources and increase revenues, in addition to conducting local awareness initiatives to raise awareness about the rationalization of water use, and to ensure the transition to economic models of water use in agriculture.
They also called for intensifying reforestation operations in the areas surrounding the dams, and for paying particular attention to seawater desalination projects in the region.
2024-04-18 04:09:07