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In Morocco, groundwater management policy is now officially articulated around the implementation of groundwater contracts. These policy instruments are standards promoted at the international level, but they are largely malleable and are subject to a specific appropriation by national actors who produce water policies. These are characterised by a deep historical logic that serves to limit the policy change promoted by such instruments. Nonetheless, the implementation of water contracts comprises a strategic resource mobilised by actors in the water sector increasingly marginalised in comparison with the powerful agricultural sector, while their promotion offers the Moroccan authorities the advantage of being able to bring their public policies into line with international standards in terms of water management. The promotion of aquifer contracts presents Moroccan authorities the advantage of being able to show Moroccan water policy’s compliance with international standards. It acts as a symbolic as well as a material resource for some, while it guarantees the greenwashing of parallel agricultural development policies for others.