The Tensift Hydraulic Basin Agency federates the interests of water stakeholders in the Tensift-Ksob-Igouzoulen hydraulic basin. The area extends on 24,800 km² and is home to some 2.8 million inhabitants in six administrative districts. The Agency is mandated to plan, develop and manage the water resource in the region in an integrated, decentralised and concerted manner, in order to better exploit this resource in the interest of the local economy, while ensuring its sustainability.

The challenge

In the Haouz Plain near Marrakech, irrigated agriculture accounts for about 85% of the total water demand. Since 1990, a series of droughts and an increasing number of groundwater pumping sites for irrigation have caused a drop in the level of the Haouz aquifer (the main aquifer in the region), of up to two metres per year. To ensure a more efficient water use in the region, the Agency needed on the one hand to predict snow melting feeding into streams and reservoirs upstream. On the other hand, it needed to have a better overview on water demands from agriculture and its spatial distribution, in order to improve water use downstream.

“The Ministers responsible for Water (…) agree to (…) make best possible use of surface and ground water resources (…) by developing economies in all different uses”. Mediterranean Charter for Water, Rome 1992.

The satellite solution

Since 2010, the Tensift Hydraulic Basin Agency has used remote sensing to estimate the availability of and the demand for irrigation water, so as to adapt groundwater abstraction to such demand.

The agency receives daily satellite imagery with information on the snow cover and its water equivalent, which allows it to estimate water availability upstream. Downstream, land cover maps and data from satellite imagery, hydrometeorological ground stations and piezometric sensors, are combined to estimate evapotranspiration and assess water demand for agriculture.

The system is the result of a partnership among several local and foreign water management entities, research institutes and French and German cooperation agencies.

The result

The integrated model combining geographic information and satellite imagery, enables the Basin Agency to have a permanent, long-term and accurate overview of land use, of the evolution of irrigated areas and of irrigation water demand in the area and to plan measures to balance out availability and demand. This is especially important in the southern Mediterranean regions, where weather stations are scarce, especially in mountain areas.

“Satellite imagery allows to better estimate water availability and demand from agriculture, and to ensure an efficient and effective use of this resource in the long term.”
Brahim Berjamy, Head of the Information Systems, Tensift Hydraulic Basin Agency

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The region of Laâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra is located in the Western Sahara territory of Morocco.
It covers an area of 139 480 km² with a population of 256 152 inhabitants. The region includes the provinces of Laâyoune, Boujdour and Tarfaya. The capital of the region is Laâyoune. With a population of approximately 200 000 habitants, it is the largest city in estern Sahara.
The Moroccan Ministry of Housing and Town Planning, relying on the competencies of the Urban Agencies and Al Omrane Company, is in charge of carrying out a number of studies and projects aimed at increasing the quality of the urban environment and enhancing the attractiveness of the region’s cities.

The Challenge

Urban habitats have been long characterised by overpopulation and lack of basic facilities and accommodations, causing the flourishing of slums. With the aim of eradicating such habitats, the Moroccan government launched the programme ‘Cities Without Slums’ in 2004. Its objective was to make an assessment of the existing slums, together with the establishment of upgrading and re-housing programmes and the development of new urban areas. In order to identify existing slums and monitor the progress of the programme, conventional methods such as field visits/observation and the use of databases and statistics soon proved to be insufficient.

The Satellite Solution

In carrying out the programme, high resolution satellite images are used as a base to assess the state of slums and evaluate changes in terms of extension and demolition of shanties. Aerial images are then taken every three months in targeted areas, enabling the assessment of the programme’s progress by comparing images taken on different dates.
The programme was made possible thanks to the collaboration between the Ministry of Housing and Town Planning and the Royal Centre for Remote Sensing.

The Results

In July 2008, Laâyoune became the first South-Moroccan city to be declared “city without slums”. The demolition of the unhealthy habitats allowed to eradicate 10 989 shanties and to relocate over 60 000 people. More than 8 000 households benefitted from the initiative, each receiving a terrain of 120 m2.
Urban planning in the areas freed from shanties is made more efficient thanks to satellite images, which, along with other information sources, have become an essential tool at the service of planners.

“The satellite images have allowed the officials in charge of this programme to take the appropriate decisions for each city. It ensured non-regression and non-proliferation of slums in the majority of the target cities.” Mohammed Belbachir, Director General Al Omrane Al Janoub

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The region of Gharb, with over 600 000 hectares of farmland and surface water resources estimated at 4,8 billion m3, i.e. 27% of the available national water resources, has a significant farming potential.

ORMVAG was created in 1966 with the objective, amongst others, to better manage water use in farmlands, through a more efficient distribution of irrigation water, infrastructure maintenance, as well as providing training and advice to farmers.

The challenge

ORMVAG operates 54 pumping stations and an irrigation network covering 3 000 km, that allows it to control water supply and demand. In particular, ORMVAG has to ensure that the regularity and quality of the water distribution service to all users are not affected by the use of irrigation water. Due to the growing infrastructure and water demand for home or industrial use, managing such a network has become increasingly complex.

The solution

ORMVAG created its own Geographic Information System and developed new tools that provide an overview of the irrigated areas, based on high-resolution satellite images. These images are used in Tadla and will be used in the future in the Gharb to determine the rate of actual and potential evaporation and plant transpiration from the land surface to the atmosphere (evapotranspiration), as well as irrigation performance indicators. Furthermore, the high-resolution satellite images and GIS provide an in-depth overview of the region by highlighting the interactions between water and land, notably urban sprawl on farmlands, but also floods.

The initial work was carried out in the surroundings of Tadla, using a Landsat satellite image (June 28, 2006), acquired within the Aquastress project. The results were similar to those determined by conventional methods, with the advantage of providing an overview of the entire irrigated area of Tadla. This proved useful in mapping land use and monitoring and controlling farmlands irrigated by pumps, urban sprawl on farmlands, and the 2009 and 2010 flooding in the Gharb.

The result

Satellite images have proved less expensive, as well as more reliable compared to conventional methods. They allow decision-makers to better manage water resources and land use, while ensuring the sustainability of the production system. As information became more reliable, it helped reinforce the trust between ORMVAG and its users. The water service has improved and management costs of the irrigated areas have been reduced (land use cartography, monitoring and control of pump irrigation, monitoring of urbanisation and flood control…).

 “Satellite imagery and GIS are two pillars for supporting and strengthening the management of agricultural areas.” Aziz Bellouti, Chief of the Agriculture Activities Development Division, ORMVAG.

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