Morocco’s Water Expressways avoid crisis in big cities, but question sustainability

Morocco spends hundreds of millions of dollars on tapping rivers to the north to water dry cities to the south, but experts have questioned the sustainability of projects facing climate change.

The North African Kingdom has spent $728 million on what will be dubbing the “waterway” to redirect the surplus flow of the Sebou River, according to official figures.

In the future, we plan to tap other northern rivers to expand the project into the city of Marrakech south.

Officials say the project has been successful in the face of an imminent threat to water supply in the country’s most populous regions.

“Transferring excess water from the Cebuu Basin to the north prevented about 12 million people from running out of water,” said Majob Larachi, an official at the Ministry of Agriculture.

In late 2023, the capital Rabat and its surrounding areas were nearing danger of running out of water when the major reservoirs supplying the city were dry.

Morocco has long suffered from extreme rainfall disparities between the Atlas Mountains and semi-arid and desert regions.

“53% of the rainfall occurs in just 7% of the national territory,” Nizal Baraka Minister of Water told AFP.

In the past, rainfall in Atlas ranges has produced ample surplus flows in most northern rivers for them to reach the sea, even in the driest months of the year.

It’s these surplus that the “Water Highway” project tries to tap.

A detour dam has been built in Kenitra, a land-based city from the Atlantic coast, suppressing the flow of the Cebuu River before entering the sea.

The water is then treated and transported along a 67-kilometer (42-mile) underground canal to supply the inhabitants of Rabat and Casablanca.

The Water Expressway, which was launched last August, was supplying two urban areas with 700 million cubic meters (24.7 billion cubic feet) of drinking water by early March.

However, experts wonder whether Cebuu and other northern rivers will continue to produce surplus of tapable water.

6 years of drought

The kingdom has already suffered from serious water stress after six consecutive years of drought.

Official figures show that annual water supply has dropped from an average of 18 billion cubic meters in the 1980s to just 5 billion today.

Despite heavy rains in the northwest in early March, Morocco maintains a drought grip and maintains rainfall of 75% below the historic average.

The dry spell is “the longest in the history of the country,” the Water Minister said, saying that the previous drying cycle usually lasted for three years.

Elevated temperatures – 1.8 degrees Celsius only last year – 1.8 degrees Celsius – enhanced evaporation power.

Experts say that climate change is likely seeing a further decline in rainfall. Rainfall is concentrated in the very area where the “waterway” is designed to tap surplus flow.

“Future scenarios show that northern waters will be significantly more affected than southern scenarios over the next 60 years,” said water and climate researcher Nabil El Mokaido.

“What is considered today’s surplus may not exist in the future due to this increase in deficit,” he added, recommending a 2020 study to reduce the “waterways.”

In Morocco, water needs for irrigation remain high, with the farm sector employing nearly a third of its labor force.

Researcher Abderrahim Handouf said more needs to be done to help farmers adopt water-efficient irrigation techniques.

Handouf said the “waterway” is a “effective solution if there is no alternative,” but warned that the climate challenges inevitably “since problems in the north.”

“We have to remain cautious,” he said.

©2025 AFP