Celebrated on March 22 each year, World Water Day 2025 has the theme “The Preservation of Glaciers.” The aim is to draw public attention to the situation of 2.2 billion people worldwide who do not have access to safe water and to encourage action to combat the global water crisis.
Through this day, the United Nations aims in particular to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6): ensuring access to water and sanitation for all by 2030.
On the sidelines of this day, the Regional Multi-Service Company (SRM) Casablanca-Settat presents its actions and projects aimed at securing the Region’s supply of drinking water. In a context of water stress, and as part of its investment program for the year 2025, SRM Casablanca-Settat plans to launch 211 drinking water projects with a total investment of 5.3 billion DH.
Securing the drinking water supply for the entire Region
Thus, the regional company has scheduled the construction of 12 water reservoirs distributed throughout the Casablanca-Settat Region, with an investment of 155 million DH excluding tax planned for this year. With an additional total volume of 277,000 m³, these reservoirs will strengthen the storage capacity of SRM Casablanca-Settat by more than 22%, reaching over 1.1 million m³ of water.
It will also launch the project to secure the drinking water supply for the Region from the future desalination plant in Casablanca with a total investment of 2.15 billion DH excluding tax. This project, planned over a two-year period, will ensure the water supply for the Region from the new plant, with a future capacity of 300 million m³ per year. The works will consist of the construction of 118 km of supply pipelines with diameters ranging from 600 mm to 1,800 mm, two water reservoirs in Sahel Oulad H’riz (Berrechid Province) with storage capacities of 30,000 m³ and 60,000 m³ of water, as well as two pumping stations with capacities of 6,000 l/s and 9,800 l/s.
Furthermore, in the face of water stress challenges, exacerbated by the effects of climate change and demographic pressure, the State has decided to prioritize securing the drinking water supply for the populations of the most vulnerable regions. An urgent program has been launched to address immediate needs while strengthening the resilience of territories against water scarcity. For the Casablanca-Settat region, the project led by SRM consists of the construction of 33 monobloc desalination and demineralization stations for brackish water with a total capacity of 255 l/s, equivalent to 8 million m³ per year. With a budget envelope of 400 million DH, the project is currently being deployed, with 11 monobloc stations already in operation (six in Settat Province, two in Berrechid Province, two in Sidi Bennour Province, and one in El Jadida Province) out of the 33 planned.
A supported action plan for detecting and repairing water leaks
SRM Casablanca-Settat has implemented a supported action plan aimed at detecting and repairing water leaks in the network and connections, combating fraud, and modulating water pressure. To successfully carry out this plan, the company relies on a range of innovative technologies, namely: the “Aquadvanced” tool, sectorization, the “Smart Ball” technology for leak detection on feeders, and acoustic pre-locators with Radio technology…
For example, in the territories of the prefectures of Casablanca and Mohammedia, SRM Casablanca-Settat has 31 teams specialized in leak detection and network sectorization, as well as a fleet of 3,600 fixed acoustic leak pre-locators. Focused on improving network performance, the action plan launched by SRM Casablanca-Settat since October 2024 has saved over 3.5 million m³ of water by the end of February 2025. The search for water leaks has covered approximately 19,500 km of service network, nearly 2.5 times the total length of the existing network. In just four months, the regional company has “listened” to nearly 7,900 km of networks. In total, 1,971 leaks detected (410 on pipelines and 1,561 on connections and metering stations) have been repaired during this period. Additionally, 12 km of transport pipelines (feeders) have been inspected, and 13 leaks have been detected.
SRM Casablanca-Settat opens its doors for awareness visits on water preservation
As part of its commitment to sustainable development in the Region, SRM Casablanca-Settat conducts awareness actions on water and environmental preservation. The doors of the regional company are indeed open for awareness visits to its various facilities for the benefit of students from educational institutions, representatives of civil society, and elected officials.
Since the beginning of the year, several guided tours of the Médiouna Wastewater Treatment Plant (STEP) have been organized for hundreds of students. These educational visits aim to raise participants’ awareness of the water cycle, particularly the importance of reusing treated wastewater for watering green spaces, and to encourage them to adopt “eco-gestures” in their daily lives for rational and responsible water use.
Drinking water in the Casablanca-Settat Region in numbers:
• +23,263 km of drinking water distribution network;
• 267 drinking water reservoirs with a total capacity of 908,207 m³;
• 128 pumping stations and boosters.
