Morocco launches water project to interconnect Sebou and Bouregreg basins

Morocco has launched a project that is set to interconnect the Sebou and Bouregreg basins. The move aims to boost supply of drinking water and irrigation in the cities of Rabat and Casablanca.

The project estimated to cost US $570M, is part of the National Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation Programme (PNAEPI), underway since January 2020. The project will see water transferred from the Sebou wadi in the north of Morocco to the Bouregreg basin, located in the centre-northwest of the kingdom.

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Boosting water supply

According to Mustapha Baitas, the Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of Relations with Parliament and spokesperson for the Moroccan government, the water that will come from Sebou will be water that falls into the sea and that we do not take advantage of. This resource will be exploited in the two axes of Rabat, and probably Casablanca, in addition to several local interventions.

The project will be developed in two phases. Phase one will connect the Sebou dam to the Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah dam in the Bouregreg basin. Phase two works will see Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah dam connected to the Imfout dam in the province of Settat.

The development is set to be completed by mid-2023 and in addition to strengthening  water supply in the face of drought, the project will reduce the overexploitation of groundwater. the Priority Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation Programme, which will end in 2027, will increase the capacity of dams from 18 billion m3 to 27 billion m3. To this must be added non-conventional water resources, i.e. from seawater desalination plants and wastewater treatment plants reuse.