The Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development said that the compliance rate of bathing water from Moroccan beaches with microbiological quality standards has remained stable since 2018 at 88.05%.
In its report on bathing water for 2023, the department of Leila Benali points out that “out of the 495 sampling stations, only 410 have been the subject of a sufficient number of samples for classification”.
Thus, he details, “361 stations (88.05%) were declared of microbiological quality in accordance with the requirements of the Moroccan standard NM.03.7.199”.
In addition, 49 resorts (i.e. 11.95%), declared non-compliant for bathing for the year 2023, are subject to the influence of waste water discharges and/or high concentration of bathers, combined with the insufficiency hygiene infrastructure and also to climate change, particularly with regard to the sometimes polluted rainwater that directly reaches the beaches via the rivers, notes the report, specifying that these 49 stations are spread over 27 beaches belonging to six coastal regions, namely Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, Rabat-Salé-Kenitra, Casablanca-Settat, Marrakech-Safi, Souss-Massa and Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab.
In this sense, the Ministry affirmed that the development of bathing water management profiles consists on the one hand of identifying the sources of pollution likely to have an impact on the quality of bathing water and bathers and of defining , in the event that a risk of pollution is identified, the management measures to be implemented to protect the population and actions aimed at eliminating the causes and sources of pollution and, on the other hand, proposing action plans and management as decision support tools. A total of 173 bathing water profiles have been produced up to 2022, of which 31 profiles have been updated according to the requirements of the standard.
The report also notes that most of the stations declared non-compliant in 2021 remain non-compliant in 2022. Speaking at this press conference, the Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali, stressed that her department monitors the quality of beach water and sand, noting that this year’s results showed that the percentage of monitoring stations suitable for swimming remains globally stable, which requires additional efforts and the taking of all necessary measures by all stakeholders in order to improve the quality of bathing water.
On this occasion, the Minister highly praised the efforts made by the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, chaired by Lalla Hasnaa, which pays particular attention to the quality of beaches, in particular through the “Clean Beaches” programs. , “Blue flag” and “bharblablastic”.
The Foundation, she added, is an eloquent example of the permanent action undertaken in terms of awareness-raising and coordination between the various stakeholders, with a view to promoting the attractiveness of beaches and the participation of these vital spaces in the national economy.
In the same context, the Minister announced that tools have been made available to citizens to help them find out about the quality of bathing water, in particular an application for smartphones (Iplages).
Annual bathing water and sand quality monitoring results, including marine litter, are published and presented at the beginning of each summer season.
These results contribute to helping decision-makers as well as informing citizens and tourist promoters about the quality of bathing water. Their dissemination is also an opportunity to assess the efforts made by all the actors concerned, as well as the results achieved in terms of improving the healthiness of beaches.
It should be noted that this report concerns “monitoring the quality of bathing water and sand on the Kingdom’s beaches”. Its results were presented at a press conference on Tuesday.