We know a little more about the seawater desalination project in Greater Casablanca in Morocco. Details of the project have been made public by the Office National de l’Électricité et de l’Eau (ONEE), which has been working on the project for several days.
Announced by the Moroccan Ministry of Equipment and Water, at the same time as a financing of 836 million Moroccan dirhams (nearly 79.6 million euros) to deal with the drought in the Cherifian kingdom, the seawater desalination project being carried out in the greater Casablanca area will improve the supply of drinking water to the populations of the cities of Casablanca, Settat, Berrechid, Azemmour and El Jadida.
The realization of feasibility studies
The future desalination plant will be located near the center of Sidi Rahhal, about 40 km southwest of Casablanca. The plant, which will desalinate water from the Bouregreg and Oum Er Rbia basins, will have a capacity of 200 million m3 per year, expandable to 300 million m3 per year.
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Before the launch of the project itself, ONEE plans to carry out various studies to determine the location and number of pumping stations required, from the outlet of the desalination plant to the distribution tanks, as well as the diameter and route of the pipes. It is also planned to examine the mapping of land use, space and development affected by the project’s infrastructure, the characterization of the acoustic environment in the vicinity of the station sites, as well as the industrial development project in the study area.
For the component dedicated to the environment, an impact study on the installation of a power line (400 kV) over approximately 55 km from the existing line Chammaia-Laaouamer will be conducted, according to the requirements of sustainable development and the guidelines adopted by ONEE.
The seawater desalination project in Greater Casablanca is part of the National Program for the supply of drinking water and irrigation 2020-2027. The program also has a component dedicated to the development of hydraulic supply through the construction of new dams in the Cherifian Kingdom. Thus, by 2027, Morocco plans to build 20 water reservoirs.
Inès Magoum