Groundwater: Two Decrees Tightened Protection of Aquifers and Water Intakes

n September 24, 2026, Official Bulletin No. 7546 published two decrees of September 16 implementing Law No. 36-15 on water. The first, No. 2.25.61, covers the delimitation of protection perimeters around the facilities that draw water for public supply. The second, No. 2.25.62, sets the conditions and procedures for delimiting safeguard and prohibition perimeters. A safeguard perimeter may be drawn wherever the exploitation of an aquifer threatens the resource, that is, when the average volume drawn each year exceeds the average volume that can be exploited sustainably. It is set jointly by the authorities in charge of water, the Interior, Agriculture and the Energy Transition, on the proposal of the river basin agency concerned and on the strength of its studies.

Inside these perimeters, the decree strictly regulates the digging of new wells and boreholes, and no authorization or concession to exploit groundwater can be granted unless its holder commits to using water-saving techniques. The prohibition perimeter targets aquifers exposed to two threats: overexploitation, when withdrawals drive the water table down far enough to endanger the renewable stock, and declining quality, when pollutant concentrations exceed thresholds set by the director of the basin agency. The text repeals the decree of February 4, 1998 (No. 2.97.657) that had governed these zones until then. It now falls to the basin agencies to draw their outlines, aquifer by aquifer.

Photo: Gharbal, CC BY-SA 4.0. A well in the Moroccan countryside.