Morocco

National Water Context

Morocco counted 36.8 million people at the September 2024 census, 63% of them in towns and cities. Its water comes mainly from rivers stored behind dams, with groundwater second and seawater desalination a growing source. Draft National Water Plan estimates put total resources at about 22 billion m³, 18 billion of it surface water, but they are unevenly spread: the World Bank estimates that 70% lie in 15% of the territory. Availability per person has fallen from 2,560 m³ a year in 1960 to about 600 m³, well below the 1,000 m³ scarcity threshold. The estimated 18.8% SDG 6.4.2 reading for 2023 uses a different, withdrawal-based definition and does not replace the per-capita measure.

Resources & Demand

Irrigated agriculture dominates demand, consuming close to 87% of mobilisable water according to the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE). Surface supplies are both erratic and shrinking: annual inflows have ranged from 3 to 48 billion m³, and the average fell from 22.3 billion m³ over 1945–1978 to 15.0 billion over 1979–2018. Farms have turned to aquifers, which supply about 35% of agricultural water. Groundwater abstraction of about 5 billion m³ a year exceeds renewable recharge by 28%, and in 2023 the water minister reported that 90% of 372,000 inventoried wells were unauthorised. Drinking water demand is far smaller but rising, from 1,391 million m³ in 2020 to 1,518 million in 2024.

Infrastructure & Governance

Responsibility is divided. The Ministry of Equipment and Water plans resources and owns the dams. Ten river basin agencies license abstraction, collect fees and monitor quality, while inter-basin transfers move water between them: the Sebou–Bouregreg link carried about 953 million m³ between August 2023 and December 2025. ONEE, the national electricity and water office, is the main producer of drinking water and sells it in bulk. Distribution is a municipal responsibility, delivered by municipal utilities (régies), ONEE and private concessionaires. Under Law 83-21 of 2023 it is shifting to a framework of twelve regional multiservice companies; the first began operating in Casablanca-Settat in October 2024. No national economic regulator sets water tariffs.

Investment & Resilience

The main investment vehicle is the National Programme for Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation (PNAEPI), budgeted at MAD 143 billion for 2020–2027. It aims to raise dam storage capacity from 18.7 billion m³ in 2020 to 24 billion by end-2027 and to scale up desalination. Cour des Comptes reported desalination capacity of 192 million m³ a year in 2024; the ministry reported 410 million in July 2026. The Casablanca plant, planned at 300 million m³ a year, is now expected to start operating in February 2027. Completed and ongoing sanitation projects totalled MAD 48.6 billion by end-2024, with MAD 56 billion approved for 2025–2034. The 30-year National Water Plan, costed at MAD 383 billion in 2019, had not achieved its adoption milestone at the World Bank’s May 2026 assessment.

Key Challenges

1. Bringing groundwater abstraction back within recharge: it runs 28% above renewable levels nationally. The pressure varies substantially between basins.
2. Sustaining supply as surface inflows decline and droughts recur; main dams fell to 32.8% of capacity in February 2022.
3. Putting treated wastewater to use: only 37 million m³ of 231 million m³ of tertiary treatment capacity was reused in 2023.
4. Completing the shift to regional multiservice companies while tariffs and fees do not cover operating costs and the National Water Plan is unadopted.