Rabat -The Sebou Hydraulic Basin Agency (Abhs) has provided 600 million (60 million US dollars) to combat water pollution in the Sebou basin, which is severely affected by waste from olive oil production.
In the operating area of
The province of Taounate houses three stations with a capacity to treat 153,800 m³ per year. In Sefou, three additional units with a total capacity of 161,759 m³ were set up.
Two other stations were installed in Moulay Yacoub (over 125,000 m³) and Meknès (63,000 m³). In FEZ, a station was created together with the relocation of other units outside the city with a total of 118,400 m³. Outside of Fez-Meknes, two stations and Ouazzane were set up in Sidi Kacem.
These installations were developed by agreements between abhs and its institutional partners with a common goal of preserving the surface water quality.
With regard to the effects of olive oil production, the Minister for Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, found that the Water The pollution in the Sebou basin is closely associated with the presence of olive milling water. One program is in progress to rehabilitate certain facilities and shift others to minimize their effects, he assured.
The Sebou basin accounts for almost 25% of the country’s olive production with a volume of around 1.8 million tons per year. The region houses around 565 olive mills and produces around one million cubic meters of wastewater annually.
According to Abhs, these liquid by -products from olive oil production contribute to almost 80% of industrial pollution in the pool due to their high pollution in aquatic environments and soils.
