Al Jazeera recently released a short documentary by Adnane Baraka entitled "Echoes of water". LINK to the documentary.
In the face of growing water scarcity, Morocco is exploring innovative solutions to enhance its water resilience. One of the traditional systems being revives is the Khettara, an ancestral hydraulic system dating back to the 1300s. Khettara consists in a long series of wells that, upon reaching the water table, connects the rest of the line solely through the action of gravity. This configuration enables the conveyance of water over considerable distances from its source, thereby mitigating evaporation losses.
However, the recent extreme drought in 2024 has pushed khettaras to their limits, causing many of these ancient wells to dry up and threatening the livelihoods of communities that rely on them. As the government seeks to address the next water crises, it is combining traditional technologies with more innovative solutions, such as desalination plants, dams and improved wastewater treatment plants. By integrating these approaches, the government aims to ensure a more resilient water supply for the future, supportinc the region's economic and social development.
For more information on traditional irrigation techniques in the Mediterranean: Barontini et al. (2017). Bridging Mediterranean cultures in the International Year of Soils 2015: a documentary exhibition on irrigation techniques in water scarcity conditions, Hydrology Research, 48(3) https://doi.org/10.2166/nh.2017.113
Cover image: "Drought in Morocco" by Houssain Tork, CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.
