Water Police: Enforcement Tightens | L’Economiste

In response to the challenges hampering effective enforcement of water-related legislation—particularly due to limited human resources—several agreements have been signed. The most recent is a partnership between the Ministry of Equipment and the Royal Gendarmerie. This collaboration aims to strengthen the protection of Morocco’s water resources by supporting monitoring operations conducted by the water police.

As a result, the number of violation reports has increased significantly. Nationwide inspections led to the issuance of 1,223 official violation reports concerning public hydraulic assets between January 1 and November 30, 2024. Of these, 475 reports involved illegal well drilling and groundwater prospecting, while 398 cases pertained to unauthorized water withdrawals. These figures were recently shared by Minister Nizar Baraka in response to a written question from the MP parliamentary group in the House of Representatives.

According to the Minister, the competent authorities are currently revising the September 2018 decree that outlines the terms and conditions for appointing water police officers and the scope of their responsibilities. The updated decree will introduce several measures aimed at improving the effectiveness of control operations, including detailed enforcement procedures and a set of performance-based incentives—mainly linked to the effectiveness of control actions and the number of violation reports issued.

Water Highway: Phase Two in the Pipeline

Minister Nizar Baraka also addressed the water transfer highway connecting the hydraulic basins of Sebou, Bouregreg, and Oum Er-Rabiê. This large-scale project is designed to optimize water resource management and promote territorial solidarity between surplus and deficit basins. Given the current water scarcity, the initiative is part of the 2020–2027 National Program for Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation.  Ultimately, the project aims to transfer an annual surplus of 1.2 billion cubic meters, thereby reinforcing the potable water supply for the Rabat–Casablanca axis and the Marrakech region, while also enhancing irrigation in the Doukkala, Beni Amir, and Beni Moussa areas. This should help preserve the Berrechid aquifer, which is heavily used for agricultural purposes.

Mohamed CHAOUI