Project Overview

Morocco has set national targets to increase wastewater reuse to 100 million m³ per year by 2027 and up to 537 million m³ per year by 2050. Current reuse remains at approximately 50–60 million m³ annually across more than 150 wastewater treatment plants. At the same time, the higher cost of desalinated water compared with conventional sources reinforces the need to identify cost-effective wastewater reuse pathways that can strengthen water security and climate resilience.

The Resilient Water Accelerator (RWA) engaged Athena Infonomics to conduct a country-wide wastewater reuse market assessment in Morocco. The study maps the potential market for treated wastewater reuse using European Union Regulation 2020/741 quality classes (A–D), examining supply, demand, costs, and market potential across agricultural and industrial uses.

Project Objectives

The assessment aimed to:

• Estimate the supply of and demand for treated wastewater across EU quality classes A–D;
• Estimate production costs and the levelised cost of water (LCOW), incorporating treatment, conveyance, and storage;
• Assess the potential market for wastewater reuse across agricultural and industrial sectors;
• Identify feasible and bankable wastewater reuse opportunities;
• Examine how treatment quality requirements align with different agricultural and industrial end uses;
• Compare the economics of wastewater reuse with desalination and conventional water sources;
• Provide evidence and decision-support tools to inform RWA, the Government of Morocco, and potential investors.
  

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Athena’s Role

Athena partnered with RWA to develop and implement the market assessment, combining economic modelling, technical analysis, GIS-based mapping, and stakeholder engagement. The work included:

• Conducting a targeted review of relevant policies, regulations, adoption risks, and market competitiveness;
• Developing cost models covering CAPEX, OPEX, lifecycle costs, treatment cost–quality matrices, and LCOW curves;
• Mapping wastewater service areas and estimating conveyance costs using GIS;
• Developing demand overlays and decision matrices incorporating factors such as water stress, peri-urban agriculture, export crops, saline soils, industrial clusters, value addition, jobs multipliers, and virtual water balance;
• Mapping agricultural and industrial uses against EU water quality classes A–D, treatment costs, and willingness to pay;
• Estimating demand across priority sectors, including OCP, automotive, textiles, and export horticulture;
• Conducting 8–16 Key Informant Interviews to collect and validate data;
• Mapping LCOW across treatment, conveyance, and storage and undertaking sensitivity testing;
• Assessing plant/operator, offtaker, and regulatory feasibility;
• Benchmarking across water quality grades and undertaking comparative P&L and lifecycle analysis;
• Testing scenarios related to treatment levels, subsidies, energy mix, utilisation, and acceptance;
• Developing an Excel-based decision-support tool and supporting knowledge transfer.

The assignment includes an Inception Report, Cost–Quality Analysis technical note and Excel model, Final Report, and an Excel-based decision-support tool with GIS-linked layers and a user guide.

Impact

The assessment is designed to provide RWA, the Government of Morocco, and potential investors with evidence on where treated wastewater reuse could offer cost-effective and feasible alternatives within Morocco’s water system. The analysis identifies potential pathways for reuse that can complement desalination, reduce pressure on groundwater and surface water sources, and strengthen resilience.

By bringing together supply and demand estimates, treatment and conveyance costs, water quality requirements, and feasibility considerations, the study provides clearer information on the bankability of potential reuse opportunities and supports investment decision-making toward Morocco’s national wastewater reuse targets.

Read the report to explore the findings and insights in more detail!

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