Moroccan dams are experiencing a revival due to December rains, with national water capacity reaching 33.6%.
After a period of scarce rainfall during November and early December, Moroccan dams have seen a significant boost thanks to recent heavy downpours. In just five days, water reserves increased by 237 million cubic meters, bringing the total volume to 5.63 billion cubic meters, reflecting a national filling rate of 33.6%.
The increase in water reserves was modest between December 10 and 15, with a rise of 105 million cubic meters to reach 5.28 billion cubic meters, before the pace of increase accelerated towards the end of the month. From December 15 to 17, reserves increased by 119 million cubic meters, followed by another surge of 237 million cubic meters between December 17 and 22.
Regarding strategic dams, the reserve at Al Wahda Dam reached 1.512 billion cubic meters out of its total capacity of 3.522 billion cubic meters, maintaining a filling rate of 42%. In contrast, the Al Massira Dam still suffers from a significant shortfall, with reserves only at 90.8 million cubic meters, reflecting just 3% of its total capacity. The Ben Ouidane Dam saw a slight improvement to 171.2 million cubic meters (14% filling), while Idriss I Dam reached 393.1 million cubic meters (34% filling).
Some dams recorded comfortable levels, such as Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah Dam, which saw its reserves rise to 777.5 million cubic meters (79% filling), and Oued El Makhazen Dam, which reached 514.7 million cubic meters (76% filling). Meanwhile, Ahmad Al Hanoushali Dam and Dar Khroufa Dam registered slight increases, with filling rates at 15% and 14%, respectively.
Smaller dams, such as Al Mansour Al Dhahabi and Al Hassan II, experienced minor changes in reserves, maintaining stable filling rates at 39% and 15%, respectively.
Amin Benjelloun, a water specialist, confirmed that the improvement in dam reserves due to the recent December rains represents a positive dynamic compared to previous weeks. However, he considered this revival to be temporary, pointing out that the national water system still suffers from structural deficits, particularly in strategic dams like Al Massira. Monitoring rainfall over several months is essential to restore sustainable balance.
