Study Results

The Water and Electricity Distribution Authority of Marrakech (RADEEMA) has invested in efforts to collect and treat wastewater and exploit its reuse including from the Marrakech Wastewater Treatment Plant (Marrakech WWTP). Faced with a water deficit in the Tensift basin and to alleviate pressure on conventional water sources, this investment has made it possible to use this recycled water in novel and innovative ways including to irrigate golf courses, green landscaped areas, the palm grove and 26 gardens and parks in Marrakech city. The reuse of this water, which is treated to a very high standard, is contributing to the health of the people and the environment having achieved a water pollution control rate of more than 95%. The reuse project is located 13 km from Marrakech while the Marrakech WWTP, which serves 947,331 inhabitants of Marrakech city, is located northwest of the city, on the left bank of Tensift River (Figure 1.1). The plant has been operational since 2010 and has undergone several phases of development since its inception.
 The Marrakech WWTP started operations in 2010 and serves almost a million inhabitants of Marrakech city. In 2020, it had a capacity of 102,186 m3 /day achieved through a wastewater collection and transport network of over 3,000 km, which uses a mix of gravity and pumping stations – there are 21 pumping stations in total. The plant uses an activated sludge treatment system and treats the water to a tertiary level. The recycled water it produces is used to irrigate green spaces and golf courses around Marrakech City (Figure 1.2).
 A solar sludge drying station was set up in May 2018 (Image 1.1). It includes 40 greenhouses (each one is 1,440 m2 ). Twenty-eight of the greenhouses for solar drying are equipped with high-precision equipment for turning and aerating sludge, enabling the dryness of the extracted sludge to reach 80%. Using solar power saves 5 MW of thermal energy daily. The reuse network was initially designed to serve 20 golf courses in Marrakech and the palm grove. Currently it serves 14 golf courses, providing 8 million m3 / year of recycled water (Image 1.2). The total volumes guaranteed by RADEEMA are 84,000 m3 / day.
 The project has put in place the infrastructure to reuse 24 million m3 /year of recycled water from wastewater treatment plants. This represents the amount of drinking water needed in a city of 700,000 inhabitants, and as such contributes significantly to reducing the water deficit of the Tensift basin, estimated at 200 million m3 /year. The water reuse project has also created jobs in the field of sanitation and boosted the economic activities of businesses and tourism through increased investments, for example, in golf courses in Marrakech. Climate and environmental benefits include a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 80,000 tons of carbon dioxide through the use of biogas generators and solar energy to dry the sewage sludge, which saves 120 MW/day. Sewage sludge is also recovered during the cement manufacturing process of which 50 t/day is used in its dried form to replace 18 t/day of petroleum coke in the cooking line of the clinker – the equipment which is used to make cement.
 Over the past decade, Morocco has made considerable progress in terms of gendersensitive democratic governance, which was institutionalized in 2014. Its government has recognized women’s economic empowerment is a key pillar for achieving gender equality, considering women’s economic, social and political empowerment as one of the foundations of the rule of law. To this end, on the path of modernization and democratization, the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Administration Reform has made great efforts to institutionalize gender equality in the public service. At RADEEMA, there is a program that targets groups including women, young people and children, to raise awareness about career opportunities in the treated wastewater sector. In March 2021, a new woman Director General of RADEEMA was appointed, providing a strong role model for other women.