Evaluation of Groundwater Quality in the Eastern District of Abu Dhabi Emirate, UAE

Water samples were collected to evaluate the groundwater quality in the shallow unconfined alluvial aquifer in the eastern part of Abu-Dhabi Emirate, UAE. The chemical monitoring revealed some spatial variability in chemical parameters as influenced by matrix aquifer changes in geological formations. Results show that changes in groundwater chemistry in the aquifer is mainly controlled by evaporation, silicate mineral dissolution, evaporite dissolution, and cation exchange. The concentration increases were accounted for primarily by dissolved sodium, chloride, and sulphate. The high value of total dissolved solids of shallow groundwater is mainly controlled by evaporation. The dominance of sodium ion was evident among the cationic compositions with an average of 2621.1 mg/L, while the chloride ion was the dominant among the anionic constituents with an average of 6249 mg/L. The prevalence of those two elements in most water samples contributes to the existence of saline water occurrence in the study area.