The Environmental Atlas of Abu Dhabi Emirate

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G ROUNDWATER S ALINITY OF S HALLOW A QUIFER Much of Abu Dhabi’s groundwater is too saline to be used for domestic consumption. Fresh groundwater (with salinities up to 1,000 mg/l) makes up only a small proportion of the total groundwater reserve. The two primary sources of fresh groundwater occur in the interior beneath the sand dunes north of

Ra's al-Khaimah

Umm al-Qaiwain

the Liwa Crescent and in the shallow aquifers near Al Ain. While the aquifers near Al Ain are periodically recharged by run-off from the Hajar Mountains, those near Liwa are ancient, non-renewable reserves that were formed at a time when the climate of the Emirate was much wetter than it is today.

A r a b i a n G u l f

Ajman

Sharjah

Qatar

Dubai

25°N 24°N 23°N

Mkasib

Abu Dhabi

Qaffay

Muhayyimat

Ghaghah

Musaffah

Bani Yas

Al Ain

Jebel Dhanna

Ruwais

Sila’a

Tarif

Habshan

Ghayathi

Madinat Zayed

Bu Hasa

Shallow Aquifer Salinity Levels

125,000 ppm (parts per million)

Brine

100,000 ppm

strongly

50,000 ppm

Oman

medium

Saline

25,000 ppm

slightly

10,000 ppm

Liwa

strongly

7,000 ppm

medium

Brackish

4,000 ppm

slightly

1,500 ppm

UAE Standard

1,000 ppm

WHO Standard

500 ppm

Fresh

200 ppm

Saudi Arabia

20

0

20

40 Kilometres

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