干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

Oasis and the small town of Figuig are located in the far south-east at the Oriental region of Morocco near the Algerian border. In this desert area, water resources are limited and collective sanitation is not fully applied. Water used is obtained from wells, scarce and temporary surface sources and mines (foggaras). The main irrigation technique is border irrigation, but drip systems are also being introduced. A dam is being built at some distance from the village and the possibility of reusing treated wastewater after the implementation of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is being considered. Over the last years, cultivated land increased due to new wells mainly built without any control. This situation has lead to an overexploitation of the aquifer and soil salinisation. Only one neighbourhood has a complete sanitation system with sewerage and a WWTP using a series of stabilisation ponds (WSP) built in 1998 with the aim of treating the wastewater and subsequently reuse it for agricultural irrigation purposes. Mon-3 NGO, teams from the University of Barcelona (UB) and CUADLL have been collaborating with the municipality for the implementation of a sustainable water management project focused on water resources, but the need to cope with the rest of the components of the SPAC (Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum) arose. Measures to counteract water salinisation and soil losses are needed, but still difficult to implement.