Physical water scarcity is when there is not enough water to meet the needs of a community and its environment. Economic water scarcity is when a community is lacking in money to build infrastructure which stores, collects or moves water from one place to another.
Some factors that cause water scarcity in North Africa is the large population in areas of very little rainfall, which often also experience drought, which makes it hard to provide water for so many people. The water at times is also very polluted, given the lack of money available to properly treat drinking water.
The patterns of water scarcity throughout Morocco is that along the coast there is more water available and the inland areas have less water available.
The dry environment affects the avalibility of water because of decreasing ground water levels due to the lack of rain to replace ground water and the over use by the community. The lower the ground water gets the harder it is for people to pump water out of the ground .
Problems that water scarcity causes is lack of water to grow crops to feed the population. Drinking water that is available can be contaminated causing people to become sick.
Currently experts have been working with Moroccan farmers with new technology that helps to use less water in farming. They are also working towards improving communities reservoirs to protect them from contamination.