Morocco has officially exited a prolonged seven-year drought as heavy rainfall and exceptional snowfall this season have sharply boosted water inflows and reservoir levels, the government said on Monday, giving authorities more room to manage national water resources.
Speaking in the lower house of Parliament, Minister of Equipment and Water Nizar Baraka said total rainfall from Sept. 1 to Jan. 12 reached 108 millimeters, an increase of about 95 percent compared with the same period last year and roughly 17.6 percent above the long-term average, indicators he said show the drought threshold has been crossed.
Baraka noted that this year’s snow cover was “exceptional,” with peak coverage reaching about 55,495 square kilometers before receding to around 25,000 square kilometers, and snow depths between one and two meters in mountain areas above 2,500 m, bolstering both surface and groundwater supplies.
As a result, national dam filling rates climbed to 46 percent from 28 percent a year earlier, with total stored water at about 7.7 billion cubic meters.
Incoming flows from Sept. 1 to Jan. 12 totalled 3.5 billion cubic meters, including 3.1 billion in the last month alone, Baraka said. Multiple basins, including those in the Loukkos, Sebou and Oum Er-Rbia regions, registered levels between 80 percent and full capacity.
Baraka said the improved situation means Morocco has effectively gained a year of drinking water supply on average nationwide, but he stressed the need to pursue structural strategies to secure water long term, particularly desalination of seawater, which the government projects will eventually meet up to 60 percent of national drinking needs by 2030.
He pointed to ongoing desalination projects in Nador, Driouch and Tangier, with plans for new facilities in Souss-Massa, Tiznit, Guelmim, Tan-Tan and Rabat in the coming year.
Baraka reiterated commitment to expanding the national water interconnection network, dubbed the “water highway,” designed to link basins such as Oued Laou and Loukkos with the Oum Er-Rbia and other regions, in line with royal directives to strengthen water security.
Baraka said the rebound in supplies should support agricultural planning and rural access to potable water, but affirmed that “proactive efforts must continue,” indicating integrated infrastructure and desalination remain critical to addressing climate-driven variability and long-term water resilience.
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