## 2 Study Area  
The Tata watershed, with an area of 2567 km\({}^{2}\), is a well-individualized hydrographical system of the Anti-Atlas mountain chain. It is situated in the province of Tata in the southeastern part of Morocco, between Lambert coordinates X (200,000 and 280,000) and Y (290,000 and 360,000) (Figure 1). The climate of the basin is continental and semi-arid, with low rainfall (<150 mm/year) and high average summer temperatures (>32 \({}^{\circ}\)C) [22; 23]. The analysis of 70-year monitoring rainfall period data shows alternate humid periods, with a duration of 8 years, followed by more extended dry periods. The range of daily and seasonal temperatures is high (19 \({}^{\circ}\)C in winter and 30 \({}^{\circ}\)C in summer). The wet period is between October and March, and the dry one can extend from April to September. The average relative moisture values show significant monthly variations, exceeding 40% in summer. They are over 40% in November, December, January, and February, when low temperatures (<16 \({}^{\circ}\)C) are registered. The Tata watershed is compact, with a Gravelius Index of 1.84, and is characterized by a dense drainage network [24]. About 18 tributaries from the mountain ranges on either side of the valley contribute significantly to the flow of the Wadi Tata. The contribution from springs is very low (<1 m\({}^{3}\)/s). The monthly discharge of Wadi Tata is highly variable, because of the large variability in rainfall in the basin. Figure 1: Location of the Tata watershed. In economic terms, agriculture is the main activity in the region, with 5500 hectares of irrigated land [15]. It is developed at the oases where traditional palm groves are irrigated from alluvial aquifers by khettaras, wells, and resurgences [24,25] (Figure 2). Geologically, the basin is occupied by Precambrian formations composed of granite, gabbro, and schist at the Ighrem, Tagragra, and Agouliz inliers (Figure 3a). The Paleozoic cover occupies a large part of the basin, including volcano-sedimentary deposits progressing to carbonate deposits of \"Lower limestones\" topped with pellets of a purplish-red color \"Lie-de-vin\" followed by carbonate deposits of \"Upper limestones\" and schists-calcareous series [26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34]. Sandstones and quartzites of the Ordovician age occupy the southern part of the basin, followed by Devonian shale and limestone [35,36]. Alluvial deposits fill the valleys and form alluvial aquifers [23] (Figures 3b and 4). Structurally, three major fault directions exist in the basin: NNE-SSW, NE-SW, and E-W [27] (Figure 3a). NE-SW sills and doleritic dykes related to the opening of the Atlantic Ocean in the Triassic/Lias period traverse all these terrains [37]. From a hydrogeological perspective, the Tata watershed can be described as a series of parallel ridges intersected by two significant clues, Tagmout in the north and Tata in the south, which are separated by plains known as Feijas. The Quaternary alluvial filling overlays the Hercynian bedrock in these Feijas (Figure 5), containing water tables that are primarily utilized for irrigating palm groves. Recharge of the alluvial aquifer occurs mainly through flooding, precipitation, and underground contributions from adjacent plain filling formations, in direct contact with the Adoudounian limestone formations. The marginal limestone formations upstream of the clues represent ideal recharge zones for the alluvial groundwater due to their highly extensive, fractured, and fissured characteristics. These formations infiltrate precipitation to supply the underflow of the deep valleys. Apart from the alluvial formations, the basin is dominated by discontinuous aquifers, as illustrated in Figure 3b, which possess nearly identical hydrogeological parameters. In comparison with the alluvial aquifer, the groundwater storage of these formations is insignificant. In these discontinuous aquifers, groundwater is primarily stored in fractures and crushed zones and circulates within a network of high hydraulic conductivity zones.