MOROCCO: in Essaouira, a new water supply improves service to populations
Faced with drinking water shortages in the province of Essaouira in Morocco, the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (Onee) is inaugurating new installations, particularly in the commune of Sidi Ali El Korati.
The National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (Onee) of Morocco is improving the supply of drinking water to the inhabitants of Sidi Ali El Korati, a local authority in the province of Essaouira, located in the Marrakech region -Safi. This is thanks to new hydraulic installations recently commissioned by officials of the Moroccan public company. The completed project is part of the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), launched in 2015 in the Cherifian kingdom with the aim of fighting poverty, precariousness and social exclusion.
The work focused in particular on the construction and equipment of a pumping station, two semi-buried tanks with a capacity of 150 m 3 , two other semi-buried tanks with a capacity of 100 m 3 and three recovery stations with tarpaulin. The locality of Sidi Ali El Korati has been equipped with a 100 km distribution network to serve residents through 94 new standpipes.
According to Onee, the work required an investment of 50 million Moroccan dirhams, or more than 4.5 million euros. In addition to improving drinking water supply, the new hydraulic installations make it possible to limit the impact of water stress which is a manifestation of drought.
In this context, Onee is also focusing on the desalination of seawater. This is how the Moroccan public company launched the construction of a desalination plant in Essaouira in May 2023 . The future station will have a capacity of nearly 53 million m3 per year. The seawater treated by this installation will serve both households and farmers.
