Morocco Dam Reserves Reach 65.81%, More Than Double Last Year

Morocco’s dams held 11.206 billion cubic metres of water on Saturday, Oct. 31, putting the national filling rate at 65.81% of the combined capacity of 17.027 billion cubic metres, according to official data on reservoir levels.

That figure is more than double the 31.29% recorded on the same date last year. The gap of roughly 34.5 percentage points translates into an estimated 5.9 billion additional cubic metres now sitting in storage.

All nine basins above last year

Every one of the Kingdom’s nine hydraulic basins is fuller than it was twelve months ago. The sharpest turnaround came in the Oum Er-Rbia basin, which climbed from 9.12% to 58.72%. The Moulouya basin rose from 28.58% to 72.65%, and the Sebou basin from 42.25% to 74.46%.

The smallest year-on-year gains, around 10 points each, were recorded in the Draa-Oued Noun and Ziz-Guir-Ghris basins.

The overall picture remains uneven. The north is holding at comfortable levels, the east and southeast have recovered strongly, and several southern basins stay fragile. Much will hinge on rainfall in the coming weeks.

A stable October on paper

Over the month, the national total barely moved. Reserves stood at 11.155 billion cubic metres, or 65.51%, on Oct. 1, meaning storage grew by only about 51 million cubic metres, or 0.30 points.

That headline stability hides opposing trends underneath. Basins that gained water added about 302 million cubic metres in total, while those that lost water shed around 251 million, according to ministry figures.

Northern basins slip

The Sebou basin posted the largest drop by volume, falling from 4.177 to 3.999 billion cubic metres, a loss of close to 178 million. Its filling rate eased from 77.77% to 74.46%.

Most of that decline came from Al Wahda, the Kingdom’s largest dam, which lost nearly 161 million cubic metres during October as its rate slid from 81.26% to 76.58%. The Idriss I dam gave up about 23 million cubic metres.

The Loukkos basin went from 1.495 to 1.429 billion cubic metres, with its rate dropping from 76.43% to 73.02%. Dar Khrofa dam lost about 37 million cubic metres and Oued El Makhazine about 17 million. Oued El Makhazine, now at 65.26%, is the only large dam sitting below its level of a year ago, when it stood at 71.07%.

The published data do not specify the reasons behind the northern decline.

Strong recovery in the east

The Moulouya basin recorded the biggest jump of the month, with reserves rising from 390 to 509.65 million cubic metres and its rate from 55.61% to 72.65%, a gain of more than 17 points.

The Mohammed V dam drove that rise, going from 36.17 to 129.91 million cubic metres, which lifted its rate from 21.93% to 78.76%. The Tamalout and Hassan II dams also improved.

Ziz-Guir-Ghris saw a similarly steep increase, from 215.57 to 310.69 million cubic metres, reaching 56.67% against 39.32% at the start of the month. Stocks at the Hassan Addakhil dam grew by about 62 million cubic metres and at Kaddoussa by about 32 million.

Draa-Oued Noun gained close to 38 million cubic metres to reach 38.10%, mainly thanks to the Mansour Eddahbi dam, which added about 33 million.

Modest gains in the centre

In Oum Er-Rbia, storage edged up from 2.895 to 2.938 billion cubic metres. Al Massira dam gained nearly 22 million cubic metres, though it remains only 40.64% full.

The Bouregreg basin improved slightly to 76.98%, supported by the Tiddas dam at 91.89%. Tensift slipped to 74.21% as Lalla Takerkoust fell to about 30 million cubic metres, while Yacoub El Mansour gained roughly four million.

Souss-Massa lowest

At 46.53%, the Souss-Massa basin remains the least filled of the major basins, after a slight decline over the month that left its overall situation largely unchanged.

Some smaller dams remain at very low levels, including Mokhtar Soussi at about 10.6%, Toudgha at about 9.1% and Al Hamr at about 5.2%.