Experts blame poor crop choices, growing populations and climate change for the water shortages in towns like Zagora, which saw repeated protests for access to clean water last month.
The shortage of drinking water pushed the impoverished inhabitants of the Zagora region to demonstrate in an unusual outbreak of anger.
Twenty-three people were arrested following confrontations with police, and eight were handed sentences last week of two to four months in prison.
Moroccan Prime Minister Saadeddine El Othmani made an exceptional public apology during a Parliament session Monday.
"I apologize publicly to the people of Zagora, because it’s the state’s responsibility," he said, promising to solve the problem.
Persistent drought in recent years has reduced farm-dependent Morocco’s gross domestic product.
The government is concerned that the issue of water is becoming a threat to national stability in the kingdom, seen as a steady force in a restive region and key ally with the West in the fight against terrorism.
Although water supplies have been restored in Zagora in recent days, residents complain about its poor quality.
With a consumption of 7 million cubic meters of water per year, according to a study by the regional hydraulic basin agency, "the watermelon greatly contributed to the water stress in the region," said Jamal Akchbab, president of the Association of Friends of the Environment in Zagora.
The drought in Morocco has pushed rural people toward the city each year.