The problem of access to drinking water in the city of Guercif (Northeast of Morocco): challenges and prospects

In a climatic context, such as that one in our study area, water is a major environmental issue. The combination of several significant causes already explains the scarcity of water in the town of Guercif: lack of rainfall, climate change, and overexploitation of groundwater. In addition to this structural data, it should be remembered that the sustained dynamics of the area from the point of view of urban planning, demographics, as well as industrial and agricultural development accentuate the demand for a matter as vital as water. The need for water in Guercif will follow the trend of population growth and water-consuming activities. In this context, the deficit recorded during 2019 for the water supply, threatened the urban development of a city newly promoted to the status of the chief town of the province. This study was conducted in two phases: an exploratory phase marked by semi-directive interviews with institutional actors, the service concerned with the production and distribution of drinking water in Guercif, complemented by the second phase of a survey with a sample of heads of households. A mass of data from the field surveys during the summer of 2019 guided the analysis of the impacts of the water shortage in Guercif, as well as the behavior of the urban population towards water consumption and saving. This study describes the satisfaction scales of a sample of urban households based on a questionnaire. The results obtained from the surveys carried out during 2019 confirm the vulnerability of the water sector in Guercif, where the local water potential remains largely dependent on external contributions.