In the past, mountainous regions were rich in water, forming vast reservoirs for decades. However, today these regions are suffering from water scarcity due to insufficient rain and snowfall, resulting in fewer drinking water sources.
Recently, some mountainous regions have faced periodic interruptions of drinking water due to extreme temperatures. This situation is causing concern among local families, who fear a repeat of the water shortage during the summer season.
Although the intensity of the interruptions is no longer as severe as in previous years, they persist in several mountainous regions, both in the north and in the south, due to the lowering of the level of some local dams in recent weeks.
Government authorities are actively working to provide this vital resource to all Moroccans. For this, the construction of new small and medium dams in these regions is planned, in order to store the rainwater necessary during this critical period.
In addition, some mountainous regions experienced heavy snowfalls during the winter, which played a key role in maintaining the water balance during the summer, especially thanks to the snowmelt which took longer than usual.
Mohammed Addich, president of the Civil Coalition for the Mountain, indicated that “ the mountainous regions suffer from an unprecedented thirst“, and noted that ” Taounat has seen many protests in recent days, as have some villages in the southeast“.
In a statement to MoroccoLatestNewsthe activist pointed out that “ this sad reality is the result of the policies undertaken over the last decades, because government decision makers did not anticipate the structural water crisis that these regions were going to experience“.
The activist explained that “ past policies have not taken into account the importance of conserving water resources in regions with abundant water“, emphasizing that “ climate change has exacerbated the water crisis in cities in general and arid areas in particular“.
He also pointed out that ” the local authorities, in collaboration with the relevant ministries, have not built enough small and medium dams in these mountainous regions in recent years, which has resulted in the loss of enormous water wealth“.
” Dams play a crucial role in water accumulation, which positively impacts agriculture and groundwater“, he pointed out, noting that “ the mountainous regions need, in turn, a government plan to save them from the specter of thirst that threatens them“.
Regarding groundwater, the Moroccan ecologist, Doctor of Geography and fervent defender of the environment, Mohamed Benata, sounded the alarm on the depletion of our groundwater which constitutes the country’s strategic stock.
” There have been recommendations to salvage what can be, but to no avail! Today, we are informed of the situation of the dams, but we neglect the situation of our water tables and groundwater. But that’s what we need. Our water tables have been drained“, deplores this agricultural engineer.
” In Oujda, citizens have been experiencing water cuts every day for almost a month, sometimes at 11am. The authorities told us that the canal was damaged, and that the pipe that comes from Machraâ Hamadi to Oujda broke, but normally the pipes are repaired in two or three days. Today, that’s not the problem. The problem is that the aquifers have been overexploited to such an extent that we have reached a dangerous stage“, explains the expert.
Instead of focusing only on the situation of the dams and their filling rate, Benata calls on the Ministry of Equipment and Water to provide information on the situation of our water tables and whether they have been replenished or not.