Water Stress: A Persistent Concern for Our Country
Water stress, regardless of the indicators or slight improvements, will always be at the heart of current events and a major concern for our nation. Although the water level in our dams has shown significant progress during the first 9 months of 2025, with an average fill rate of 29 to 30%, the threat remains real, and the situation is fragile, especially given the weakness of our reserves, regional disparities, and growing climate challenges, marked by prolonged droughts and increasingly frequent rainfall disruptions.
According to a report published in 2024 by the Tunisian Institute of Competitiveness and Quantitative Studies, Tunisia is among the top five countries most exposed to global water stress. Our country is also ranked among the poorest in water, with an average below the threshold of scarcity.
It is for this reason that the President of the Republic, who considers this issue a national strategic priority, consistently emphasizes the urgency of perfecting and consolidating existing networks, modernizing infrastructure, reforming the sector, empowering various stakeholders, and ensuring healthy and sustainable governance.
Moreover, there is a need to ensure better management of our resources through proper control of demand, particularly in high-water-consuming sectors like agriculture, which continues to account for around 80% of our water potential, despite the limited conventional resources. Transitioning to new agricultural models, especially those with high technological content, is also essential.
These are legitimate recommendations, as our water sector has long suffered from neglect, lack of maintenance, lack of engagement, and even "corruption and plot-driven policies," as repeatedly stated by the Head of State.
It is worth recognizing that our country has solid arguments to mitigate the direct impacts of climate volatility, including a highly significant natural potential. For instance, our hillside basins, once properly valued and exploited, could provide a reliable and viable alternative for collecting water resources. Our dams, if well-managed, can also guarantee a stable and secure supply.
These are serious avenues that, when combined with effective public policies oriented in the right direction, will provide us with more assurance. These policies should prioritize improving the level of reuse of treated wastewater and consolidating desalination projects.
However, these reliable orientations require colossal investments and a well-adapted regulatory framework.
