This photo shows one of our groups getting water from a well in the desert near Chegaga in the M'Hamid area south of Zagora. In the desert wells are few and far between and are even marked on good road maps, such is their importance. Nomads live in this area and there are some very small communities that draw from the well; we often see herds of camels and flocks of goats and sheep queuing up at the well to drink. Locals tell us that they bring their camels to the well once every three or four days (although they can last for considerably longer periods without fluids) and each camel drinks up to 50 litres of water at each sitting, a fact that confirms their status as one of the most superbly adapted animals for desert living. In this particular well, water is fairly near to the surface (about 10 metres or so), making it a straightforward task to get the water out. Elsewhere in Morocco, wells are a common source of water in the absence of mains supplies in rural areas. Most villages will have access to a well but many will have to walk long distances to get water, a task that is normally left to the women or children in the family. The development and construction boom in and around Marrakech has led to rising fears about serious water shortages in Morocco's future. Although King Hassan II was responsible for a widespread damming programme across Morocco's mountain regions, water levels, particularly in reservoirs in the High Atlas close to Marrakech have reached dangerously low levels in recent years, prompting a new phase in dam building; the new reservoir at Ouirgane, some 60km from Marrakech is a case in point. Despite the water shortages, Marrakech's development continues unabaited with extensions to existing goilf courses being added, and new golfing complexes in the process of being built. The construction industry places huge demands on water supplies, and the tourist industry, with flush toilets and baths in hotels, even more. A traditional Moroccan household uses a fraction of the water used in a corresponding houehold in the more developed world, largely due to the absence of flush toilets and their use of communal "hammams" where locals gather to wash. Every season Moroccans pray for rain to guarantee their crops and to raise the levels of their ever-depleted reservoirs. We recommend when you come to Morocco on holiday that you are mindful of this and keep your water use down to a minimum. Many of the more ecologically-savvy hotels and guest houses will remind you of this with advisory notes in hotel bathrooms about the need to conserve water for the future.
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