Tap water in Morocco

Not safe to drink

The WHO and UNICEF put safely managed drinking water within reach of 81% of people in Morocco. National figures describe a country, not the tap in front of you.

What the sources say

WHO / UNICEF JMP

81% of the population has safely managed drinking water, meaning it is free from contamination at the point of use.

Coverage splits by where you are: 90% in urban areas against 65% in rural ones.

US CDC Travelers' Health

Advises travellers that tap water is generally not safe to drink in Morocco.

Numbeo

55.19/100 on the water drinkability and accessibility index, which Numbeo reads as “Moderate”. This one is crowdsourced from residents rather than measured.

Lonely Planet

Tap water is chlorinated in Morocco’s cities and generally safe to drink – certainly safe to clean your teeth with. Elsewhere, stick to treated water – filter or purify it. Bottled...

Tap water is chlorinated in Morocco’s cities and generally safe to drink – certainly safe to clean your teeth with. Elsewhere, stick to treated water – filter or purify it.

Bottled water is available everywhere, although there is an environmental cost through the mountains of discarded (and unrecycled) plastic bottles.

Off the beaten track, water drawn from wells or pumped from boreholes should be safe, but never drink water from rivers or lakes, as this may contain bacteria or viruses that can cause diarrhoea or vomiting.

This is a national picture, and it varies. Some cities treat their water to a standard the country as a whole does not reach. Where the water is not safe, boiling, filtering or sealed bottles are the usual options, and ice and raw salad washed in tap water carry the same risk as the water itself.

What bottled water costs you here

Drinking tap water instead of bottled would save one adult about 416$ a year in Morocco, and keep several hundred plastic bottles out of circulation.

Work out your own saving

Places in Morocco

Water quality is local. These places have their own readings.

Elsewhere in Africa