Moroccan Media Reports and Parliamentary Questions Expose Water Pollution Concerns as Algeria Pursues Cross-Border Case
Morocco’s own media reports and parliamentary scrutiny have documented recurring wastewater and industrial-discharge problems, as Algiers prepares to pursue international action over pollution affecting waterways in western Algeria.
By: Dr. Hana Saada
ALGIERS — Algeria’s move to internationalise the pollution affecting waterways in its western border region has brought renewed attention to environmental failures documented inside Morocco, where local reporting and parliamentary scrutiny have highlighted the discharge of untreated industrial and agricultural waste into rivers and watercourses.
The concerns span several areas, from olive-oil processing waste in Taourirt to industrial effluent entering Oued Za, a tributary of the Moulouya river system in eastern Morocco.
In Taourirt province, recent images from the Sabab area have prompted fresh concern over the discharge of margine — the dark, liquid residue generated during olive-oil extraction — into nearby watercourses. Rich in organic matter and phenolic compounds, the waste can contaminate water and soil when released without adequate treatment, with potential consequences for agriculture, ecosystems and public health.
The issue is longstanding. In January 2023, Moroccan outlet Taourirt Press, in a report by Ezzeddine Kadouri, documented renewed protests, particularly among farmers, over olive mills discharging processing waste into waterways. Residents raised concerns about damage to water resources, farmland, livestock and human health, while questioning the effectiveness of local monitoring.
Those concerns were also addressed at an official level. At a meeting on 14 April 2026, chaired by Taourirt Governor Badr Boussif, authorities examined irregularities at olive-processing facilities, including unlicensed operations, inadequate wastewater connections, insufficient pre-treatment and mills operating within residential neighbourhoods. The meeting considered legal measures, including closures pending compliance, while calling for solutions that would reconcile economic activity with environmental protection.
A separate case has reached Morocco’s parliament. MP Faten El Ghali submitted written question No. 27998 to the interior minister over the performance of the wastewater treatment plant in the commune of Oued Za. Her question cited reports that industrial wastewater was entering Oued Za, whose waters feed the Mohammed V and Machraa Hammadi dams — key resources for eastern Morocco.
The parliamentary submission also raised persistent odours around the treatment facility and questioned why public investment in its rehabilitation and industrial-wastewater treatment had yet to produce tangible improvements. Oued Za ultimately flows into the Moulouya, one of eastern Morocco’s principal river systems.
These cases document environmental concerns acknowledged by Moroccan media, local authorities and parliamentary representatives. They do not, in themselves, establish the precise origin or responsibility for the pollution affecting Algerian waterways — a question that requires specific technical and scientific evidence.
Algeria, meanwhile, has signalled that it intends to pursue the matter through legal and diplomatic channels. On 10 November, a high-level delegation led by Interior Minister Brahim Merad visited Tlemcen to assess pollution affecting Oued Mouilah, Oued El Mouhqin and Oued Abbas, as well as Hammam Boughrara Dam. The delegation included the ministers responsible for water resources, the environment, health and communication.
Merad said the authorities would take the necessary measures to protect the country and its citizens, adding that the issue would be brought before senior officials and relevant national and international bodies.
The following day, Mohamed Mouali, a senior Environment Ministry official, told the state news agency APS that the pollution entering Oued Mouilah constituted a “transboundary crime”. He said Algeria possessed laboratory analyses and satellite imagery documenting the contamination.
Algeria’s case invokes established principles governing international watercourses, including equitable and reasonable utilisation and the obligation to prevent significant transboundary harm. The dispute is therefore moving beyond environmental remediation towards questions of international responsibility, evidence and the protection of shared water resources.
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