This research work is intended as a contribution to the development of a multicriteria methodology, combining several factors to control the availability of groundwater resources, in order to optimize the choice of location of future drilling and increase the chances to take water from productive structures which will satisfy the ever-increasing water demand of local population (Arghen basin in the Western Anti-Atlas chain of Morocco). The geographic information system is used to develop thematic maps describing the geometry and the hydrodynamic functioning of the aquifer. In this study, 11 factors including geology, topography, and hydrology, influencing the distribution of water resources were used. Based on the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) model, GIS, and remote sensing, the study mapped and classified areas according to their hydrogeological potential. The favorable potential sectors cover 17% of the total area of the basin. The medium potential sectors account for 64%, while the unfavorable areas cover 18% of the basin area. The groundwater potential map of the study area has been validated by comparing with data from 159 boreholes scattered throughout the basin.

Increased sedimentation is the main problem that affects dam efficiency by reducing storage capacity. Planning for dam construction and maintenance requires design strategies that heavily depend on integrated basin models, properly identifying principal sediment origins within the watershed and qualifying the sediment production rate. In this research work, the physically-based watershed SWAT model, defined as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool, was used to estimate the rate of sediment production for future dams in the Tata basin, located in southeast Morocco. The model was calibrated and tested for uncertainty by the employment of the algorithm Sequential Uncertainty Fitting-2. The outputs were used for assessing critical sediment source areas. Calibration and validation of the model were performed by monthly data. The values for Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient, Percent bias coefficient and determination coefficient (R²), respectively, during the calibration period 1990–1998 (0.96, −13% and 0.96) and the validation period 1999–2006 (0.77, + 11% and 0.93) indicate the accordance with the results obtained for the measured flow and the simulated flow values. The annual sediment yield of the Tata basin extends from 0 to 11 t/ha/y with a mean of 2.3 t/ha/y. The spatial distribution of these sediments varies from upstream to downstream. The downstream basin generated more sediment to the river per unit area, though it was less than the total amount of the basin for the upstream area. This variation is influenced by the increased downstream surface runoff and also by other characteristics of the basin such as slope and lithology. The low erosion places correspond to areas with lithological formations that are more resistant to erosion.

The current investigation concern Tiouit region in order to perceive potential mining zones. Remote sensing data were the main component to process. In order to spot geochemical anomalies associated with the target zones, multispectral ASTER data, gamma-ray spectrometry, and stream sediment data were used. Crosta and SAM applications granted to map a spatial distribution of propylitic, phyllic, clay, and ferruginous alteration zones. The normalized ratios let the delineation of potassic alteration zones, including the Tiouit gold mine characterized by an intense alteration in the Ikniwn granodiorite. Thus, the potassic alteration zones are consistently co-located with the tectonic structures materialized by strong fracturing densities. The stream sediment geochemical investigation revealed that the cited areas have an important potential of mineralization, with high concentrations of As (136 g/t), Cu (91 g/t), Pb (141 g/t), Zn (392 g/t), Ag (3 g/t), Mo (11 g/t), Mn (0.2 g/t), and Fe (10.63 %).