WESTERN SAHARA: Moroccan authorities try to combat water shortage in Western Sahara with desalinated seawater

To face the water shortage in Laayoune, the main city in the Western Sahara under Moroccan control and to satisfy the need of its' growing population, the Moroccan Water Authority built a desalination plant to purify the seawater. But not everyone is happy with the service they get. Potable water is a rare commodity in the Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara. In order to satisfy the water needs of an ever growing population in the main city of Laayoune and the surrounding area, the authorities through the National Office of Potable Water (ONEP) have invested heavily to try to tackle the problem. To solve the water shortage in the area, ONEP has had to resort to desalinating seawater, since Laayoune is only 20 kilometres away from the Atlantic Ocean. The city is home to the largest desalination plant currently operating in the region, with another, smaller one, in Boujdour. The plant was commissioned in November 1995 and has been operating and growing ever since. The first phase of the project started in 1995 with a production capacity of 7,000 cubic meters per day, which was enough to satisfy the drinking water needs of Laayoune's population, says Abdeslem Joulid, regional director of ONEP. But city's growing population prompted ONEP to expand the plant in 2005. It added 6,000 cubic meters per day to its capacity, bringing it to 13,000 cubic meters per day. According to Joulid, this is enough to satisfy the needs of Laayoune and the surrounding areas, but only for now. "Because we are anticipating a population growth, we are undertaking another expansion that will allow us to have an additional capacity of 13,000 cubic meters. So, the final capacity will be 26,000 cubic meters and the new expansion will cost around 200 million Moroccan Dirhams ($24.5 million USD)", Joulid says. The seawater goes through many treatments consisting of chlorination, acidification, coagulation, pressure filtration and microfiltration. Post treatment consists of adding caustic soda to minimise corrosion then chlorine is added to the water to disinfect it before its distribution for human consumption. The entire plants' process is automated and only fifteen employees, including those in charge of quality control, run the whole project. Water being a valuable commodity in this area, one of the main concerns of ONEP is to make consumers aware of its value. The price paid by local customers to ONEP for this desalinated water is the same paid in the other parts of Morocco, where water is more available. "We have to make people aware of the necessity to save water and pricing is not the only factor. By nature, Sahrawi people preserve water but this is not enough. We have to remind them of the necessity to preserve water daily because the future generations will definitely face water shortages and one of the pillars of the water policy is to preserve the existing resources and also think of recycling water", says Abdeslem Joulid. But despite all the awareness campaigns by the Office, it's not easy to make the local people change their attitude towards water. Virtually, every house in Laayoune has at least one water tank on its roof if not more. Businesses selling water equipment in Laayoune are also making good profit. The authorities may do everything they can, but not all the customers are satisfied with the service they get, and some still receive their water supplies in trucks. Faouzi Mohamed, a café owner in central Laayoune is one of them. "Drinking water in Laayoune faces many problems, among them purification. The authorities say that they are doing it but it's not true. In some areas of the city, like the camel market, it's an acute problem. The other problem we have in bringing water in trucks and these trucks have many serious problems, among them rust," he explains his doubts. One thing is fore sure: the water challenges in this barren area are tremendous and can only be overcome with heavy investment and more economical consumption of this scarce commodity.

ITN Source | August 3, 2007

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