01
City Water System
Casablanca had 3,218,036 residents in its prefecture at the September 2024 census, within a Casablanca-Settat region of 7.69 million that generated 32.2% of Morocco’s GDP in 2023. Responsibility for its water is divided. The Ministry of Equipment and Water sets national policy, and the Bouregreg and Chaouia Hydraulic Basin Agency assesses and allocates the resource. ONEE, the national electricity and water office, produces and transports bulk drinking water. Since 1 October 2024, distribution and liquid sanitation have been run by the Société Régionale Multiservices Casablanca-Settat, which took over from Lydec, the delegated operator since 1997.
02
Resources & Supply
Casablanca draws its conventional supply from two river basins. To the north, the Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah dam on the Bouregreg is reserved for drinking and industrial water along the coast between Rabat and Casablanca. To the south, water comes from the Oum Er Rbia through the Daourat and Sidi Said Maachou works.
That base is under pressure. In 2020, drinking and industrial water demand across the two basins reached 736 million m³. Average surface inflows to the Bouregreg and Chaouia basin are estimated at 869 million m³ a year. The basin agency forecasts a deficit in its zone from 2025, and climate projections show rainfall in parts of the region falling by 20–30% by 2050.
03
Wastewater & Stormwater
Across Casablanca-Settat, 93.9% of the urban population was connected to the public sewer network in 2024. The region has 18 wastewater treatment plants. Reuse is estimated at about 5 million m³ a year, and the national water plan targets 9 million m³ in Casablanca by 2050.
Flooding is a recurring risk. The Super Collecteur Ouest, in service since 2017, carries floodwater from the Oued Bouskoura directly to the sea. Across its zone, the basin agency has identified about 100 flood black spots.
04
Investment & Resilience
The central project is the Casablanca-Settat seawater desalination plant, a public-private partnership concluded by ONEE in November 2023 with an investment of MAD 6.5 billion. It is designed to produce 300 million m³ a year, 250 million for drinking water and 50 million for irrigation, for 7.5 million people, at a weighted cost of MAD 4.48 per m³. ONEE’s 2024 schedule placed the first 200 million m³ phase at end-2026 and the second in mid-2028. An African Development Bank-backed project of about MAD 2 billion is securing supply from the Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah dam to 2030. SRM Casablanca-Settat plans more than MAD 60 billion of investment over 2024–2054.
05
Key Challenges
- Securing supply from two drought-exposed river basins until desalinated water comes on stream.
- Bringing the desalination plant into service on its phased schedule to 2028.
- Restoring over-abstracted aquifers, including a 36.7 million m³ deficit at Berrechid.
- Expanding reuse of treated wastewater beyond about 5 million m³ a year.
- Managing flood risk in a dense coastal city exposed to Oued Bouskoura floodwater.