Morocco draws about 5 billion m³ of groundwater a year on 2023 World Bank figures, 28% more than its aquifers can sustain. When the minister gave the figure in April 2023, 90% of the 372,000 wells in the national inventory had no authorisation. The overdraft is about 1.1 billion m³ a year.
The worst basins
National averages hide steeper losses. Abstraction ranges from 100% of renewable groundwater in the Moulouya basin to 248% in Chtouka-Massa. In the Haouz-Mejjat aquifer in the Tensift basin, the deficit is 112 million m³ a year and the water table is falling by 1 to 4.4 metres a year.
Farms carry the load
Groundwater supplies nearly 35% of the water used in Moroccan agriculture, which accounts for between 75% and 87% of national withdrawals. About 30,000 farms have installed solar panels for pumping, which cuts the energy cost of irrigation but also lowers the cost of drawing more water.
Controls arriving slowly
The instruments are still being assembled. A groundwater decree signed by the ministries was waiting for the Interministerial Commission in May 2026. Aquifer management contracts cover Berrechid, Maamoura and Bahira. Under the World Bank programme, 85 smart meters had been fitted to large users' wells by June 2025, ahead of a target of 50 by 2028, but smaller wells are not covered.
The draft national water plan aims to halve groundwater overexploitation by 2030. That plan, first presented in December 2019, has not been adopted, and the World Bank's end target for its adoption by decree is December 2027.
What the full report covers
How groundwater fits Morocco's 2050 water balance, how desalination and basin transfers change the supply mix, whether drip irrigation has reduced farm demand, and which milestones to follow to 2028 are set out in the full report. The full report, Morocco Water Intelligence Report, is available for USD 999 at https://ourfuturewaterintelligence.com/reports/morocco-water-intelligence-report. For a free overview, see https://ourfuturewaterintelligence.com/countries/morocco.