Dataset for the physio-chemical parameters of groundwater in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE

Abstract

This dataset considers the statistical evaluation of groundwater quality for irrigation purposes in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE. The evaluation is based on calculating Irrigation Water Quality Index (IWQI), Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), Sodium Percentage (%Na), and Permeability Index (PI). The article represents raw data and statistical analysis for 145 groundwater well samples which took place from January until April 2018, where each sample was analyzed for the following main physio-chemical parameters including pH, EC, HCO₃⁻, TDS, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, and Cl⁻. The outcomes of the IWQI showed that 52% of the samples were categorized under severe irrigation restrictions, where groundwater can be used for irrigation of high salt tolerance crops only. While, 44% of the investigated sites located within the high restriction category, 3% within moderate restriction, and 1% within the low irrigation restriction category. Moreover, the data has been used to find other irrigation water quality indices such as Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR), Sodium Ratio (%Na), and Permeability Index (PI). These indices provided a guidance for evaluating the problems that might be developed in soil due to current irrigation practices in the study area. Furthermore, statistical analysis provided a deeper understanding of the relationship and data trends among the different physio-chemical parameters and water quality indices.

Specifications Table

Subject	Hydrology and Water quality
Specific subject area	Water quality parameters for irrigation purposes
Type of data	Tables and Figures
How data were acquired	A national monitoring programme entitled “Groundwater Quality Baseline Study” was conducted by Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD) during 2017–2018. In this study, 145 groundwater samples were collected for laboratory analyses and field measurements from 145 wells distributed in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Data format	Raw Analysed
Parameters for data collection	Physio-chemical parameters are selected (pH, EC, HCO3−, TDS, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, and Cl−) to collect the dataset for analysis of groundwater quality.
Description of data collection	The collected groundwater samples were transported for laboratory analysis at SGS Gulf Limited Laboratories, Jabel Ali free zone, Dubai, using 1 litre (L) pre-cleaned polyethylene bottles. The SGS Gulf Limited laboratories are accredited according to DIN EN ISO / IEC 17025. SGS guidelines for sample collection and transportation were followed strictly to avoid cross-contamination. The standard methods of the examination of water and wastewater edition 21st and EPA method 2007 were used for the water analyses [1,2]. The other water quality analyses were carried out in the field for properties which included: Electrical Conductivity (EC), groundwater temperature (°C), pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, alkalinity, and hydrogen sulphide. Measurements of filed parameters were used pre-calibrated portable WTW-equipment (WTW, Germany).
Data source location	Emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE
Data accessibility	Data are included in this article
Related research article	Batarseh et al., 2021, Assessment of groundwater quality for irrigation in the arid regions using irrigation water quality index (IWQI) and GIS-Zoning maps: Case study from Abu Dhabi Emirate, UAE, [3]

Value of the Data

• •The data in this article is the first of its kind that covers the physio-chemical parameters for the whole study area of Abu Dhabi Emirate, UAE.
• •The Raw data together with the processed one gives an overview of groundwater quality that will help regulatory bodies and local authorities to use the processed data to improve and develop preventive measures for safe use of irrigation water.
• •The processed calculation of the raw data gives different water quality indices, which would be useful for researchers and decision-makers for better planning and management of irrigation water in the study area
• •The IWQI, SAR and PI can be used to understand the groundwater chemistry and its control mechanisms in Abu Dhabi Emirate, UAE.
• •Identifying the main factors that affect the quality of water for irrigation and accordingly building a more realistic mathematical model to represent the real samples.

1. Data Description

Table 1 describes the chemical parameters of 145 samples, together with the calculated four other indices (IWIQ, SAR, %Na and PI). All units are converted from mg/L to meq/L. In the paper, Batarseh, et al. 2021, the focus was on IWQI index [3]. However, our data in this paper gives the calculations of other extra three indices as appears in Table 1.

Table 2.

Summary statistics of the chemical parameters and calculated indices in the study area for 145 samples.

Variable	Mean	Standard Deviation	Minimum	Median	Maximum
pH lab [-]	7.47	0.43	6.76	7.39	9.08
Sodium [mg/L]	2228	1992	105	1804	12090
Potassium [mg/L]	54.22	41.30	5.27	44.49	213.00
Magnesium [mg/L]	259.0	231.90	6.0	221.0	1565.00
Bicarbonate lab [mg/L] HCO3	118.00	86.69	34.00	91.00	714.00
EC lab [µS/cm]	14120	10956	968	12210	62000
Chloride [mg/L]	3714	3437	127	2882	20677
SAR	19.82	10.19	2.714	18.92	55.55
%Na	68.38	10.86	32.27	68.68	92.71
IWQI	38.52	9.78	8.784	39.57	77.44
PI	70.56	11.14	38.49	69.76	100.38

Table 1.

145 samples representing the chemical parameters in the study area with calculated indices.

No	Well Name	X	Y	pH lab [-]	Potassium [mg/L]	Magnesium [mg/L]	EC lab [µS/cm]	SAR	%Na	PI
1	AD-A03-50035	77878	2539314	7.26	69.02	304	17940	3.48	57.58	66.52
2	AD-A04-50016	120108	2537519	6.88	37.54	234	8250	3.96	56.46	46.76
3	AD-A04-50404	130722	2545080	7	162	514	30100	3.51	47.05	71.95
4	AD-A06-50401	205562	2549304	7.07	57.99	347	15869	12.82	89.01	56.18
5	AD-A06-51422	215426	2545191	6.85	109	509	24418	4.70	57.34	67.41
6	AD-A06-52207	195513	2552015	7.36	139	648	34970	2.71	32.27	69.24
7	AD-A07-50000	281856	2541305	7.8	28.91	104	6770	8.26	71.13	55.85
8	AD-A07-50055	280643	2535321	7.46	29.57	110	6680	9.18	55.12	56.31
9	AD-B03-50009	73712	2581334	7.77	33.55	47	8170	7.59	41.40	85.19
10	AD-B03-50017	66229	2586951	7.73	44.49	117	11030	7.17	46.57	80.42
11	AD-B03-50019	43533	2603283	7.52	77.01	255	18980	16.98	89.26	65.70
12	AD-B03-50050	69639	2570497	7.59	47.78	152	14920	14.52	84.91	77.83
13	AD-B03-50063	81807	2560525	7.74	15.23	70	8590	9.87	73.59	82.88
14	AD-B04-50063	95097	2589570	7.82	21.48	28	6000	12.73	79.54	86.68
15	AD-B04-50079	100489	2574211	7.91	22.08	26	2900	8.47	70.06	83.14
16	AD-B04-50090	100809	2556138	7.82	17.83	26	2730	11.00	67.42	83.90
17	AD-B04-50193	102821	2586236	8.02	16.07	15	2420	9.16	73.11	89.82
18	AD-B04-50412	108921	2574068	7.91	19.04	33	4300	8.23	55.47	85.40
19	AD-B04-50447	116419	2566508	7.85	23.16	33	4780	21.41	92.71	87.24
20	AD-B04-50583	140369	2561626	8.15	10.4	6	2080	10.97	64.10	99.53
21	AD-B05-00790	164138	2557236	7.33	110	515	39600	14.22	67.88	76.88
22	AD-B05-01031	163804	2562178	7.76	31.92	64	6630	6.71	43.82	77.24
23	AD-B05-14576	171180	2573599	8.61	9.52	10	1994	7.53	79.70	95.21
24	AD-B05-50624	167902	2560678	7.09	122	368	29200	10.19	64.16	77.75
25	AD-B05-50964	172084	2562794	7.65	27.26	88	6700	14.64	67.21	65.87
26	AD-B05-51324	187676	2591620	7.71	58.6	150	16130	7.49	53.34	78.52
27	AD-B05-52772	169253	2594090	7.19	44.83	162	10890	8.66	70.55	75.58
28	AD-B05-52789	155879	2583521	8.29	12.05	11	1075	13.98	80.10	100.38
29	AD-B05-52868	185476	2559381	7.11	84.14	463	19867	8.49	45.62	59.73
30	AD-B05-52978	169019	2590022	7.36	31.83	88	6420	9.24	67.28	74.86
31	AD-B05-54532	166629	2600170	7.48	39.98	104	11310	21.06	82.44	79.35
32	AD-B05-55433	171374	2580607	7.65	18.77	25	2810	14.63	75.09	90.69
33	AD-B05-59315	146175	2553585	6.9	137	491	27500	16.41	82.06	66.69
34	AD-B06-01277	193683	2558248	7.17	74.78	532	26984	20.09	84.58	66.25
35	AD-B06-50242	198051	2588565	7.34	95.78	444	25800	20.84	85.01	72.93
36	AD-B06-50268	212724	2571054	7.65	26.06	36	2720	21.48	84.49	77.97
37	AD-B06-50400	229394	2569072	7.42	74.14	248	20900	9.68	50.52	75.05
38	AD-B06-50406	233121	2582156	7.26	93.03	405	25000	9.60	53.11	68.36
39	AD-B07-50002	267550	2596720	7.24	56.57	199	15220	18.37	84.11	62.12
40	AD-B07-50053	264666	2560726	7.42	53.23	248	15630	16.32	61.62	62.06
41	AD-B07-50072	254147	2552052	7.48	62.46	257	12890	17.70	65.28	66.51
42	AD-B07-50077	250980	2554076	7.54	64.45	222	13560	5.89	46.21	70.82
43	AD-B07-50099	279199	2555829	7.26	75.25	169	12970	17.59	65.33	61.97
44	AD-B07-50161	260174	2582363	7.44	54.81	234	21800	9.34	71.19	75.71
45	AD-B08-50832	338666	2588623	7.24	38.04	291	13610	21.49	81.13	66.11
46	AD-C03-00355	47203	2642507	7.49	81.79	222	20100	19.52	72.33	79.79
47	AD-C03-50829	83522	2625883	7.63	44.88	135	8130	16.36	60.25	68.16
48	AD-C03-51558	78784	2611018	7.98	24.07	37	3590	5.25	44.30	72.28
49	AD-C03-51560	78782	2610624	7.96	23.88	39	2960	18.05	63.22	67.45
50	AD-C03-51654	80694	2631616	7.08	81.33	241	17790	6.89	49.30	67.73
51	AD-C03-51903	70561	2626564	7.6	49.69	69	5850	17.96	65.89	69.47
52	AD-C03-51907	70888	2626167	7.85	36.69	51	6220	15.69	65.76	79.96
53	AD-C03-52117	79047	2639931	7.78	43.61	86	6260	16.60	68.41	68.75
54	AD-C03-52200	84228	2651716	7.5	78.54	231	23900	25.46	91.69	77.56
55	AD-C03-52333	55126	2626377	7.15	81.42	231	18910	18.73	65.88	72.17
56	AD-C03-52725	71172	2647404	7.25	76.8	221	16680	25.62	79.48	74.90
57	AD-C03-52736	72877	2643573	6.76	110	315	20800	14.10	72.07	71.34
58	AD-C03-52857	71898	2641534	7.27	64.57	270	15550	18.92	67.97	71.80
59	AD-C03-52881	71892	2641615	7.52	64.84	270	15330	14.59	62.07	70.05
60	AD-C03-52926	54726	2645198	7.58	58.3	295	20100	13.10	55.84	76.80
61	AD-C04-50143	106297	2611054	7.99	22.67	32	5610	26.79	83.85	87.15
62	AD-C04-50175	135415	2608393	7.96	23.54	35	5390	14.87	58.48	87.49
63	AD-C04-50457	112040	2620061	7.9	32.24	51	7520	23.88	70.11	84.13
64	AD-C04-51080	139369	2634553	7.25	69.5	129	12210	16.11	84.18	73.04
65	AD-C04-51092	120362	2638497	6.94	58.33	134	13620	28.47	77.22	73.49
66	AD-C05-00054	162320	2621007	7.18	118	370	28600	21.17	70.17	69.29
67	AD-C05-50008	144460	2603786	8.28	15.71	14	4000	11.86	58.33	95.87
68	AD-C05-50019	186006	2628055	7.46	77.31	174	15840	15.36	55.68	66.69
69	AD-C05-50034	191802	2613004	6.96	90.82	289	20200	24.03	78.21	66.19
70	AD-C05-50466	161946	2623535	7.01	103	417	23400	19.83	71.35	62.46
71	AD-C05-50483	159697	2627951	7.38	72.87	245	16110	23.77	78.52	62.08
72	AD-C05-50654	166719	2604929	7.23	56.16	185	12150	17.44	64.24	72.42
73	AD-C06-50144	224327	2609430	7.7	40.52	116	7920	7.06	54.06	67.81
74	AD-C06-50439	233717	2603076	6.97	93.13	315	17860	20.28	68.81	66.23
75	AD-C06-50484	214343	2624451	7.25	79.11	139	9160	26.31	68.03	58.20
76	AD-C06-50632	204043	2624328	7.3	141	584	40900	14.92	58.13	77.61
77	AD-C07-50401	255163	2611466	7.6	22.24	33	3970	26.32	89.12	71.29
78	AD-C08-03376	338749	2612980	7.35	36.78	243	14810	22.67	65.94	68.85
79	AD-C08-57318	341631	2645444	7.48	73.92	467	21800	20.23	74.08	69.10
80	AD-C09-02536	352642	2622509	7.19	26.81	397	14540	29.71	75.24	59.41
81	AD-C09-50225	353826	2614256	7.22	23.88	210	8340	24.21	71.23	55.09
82	AD-C09-50806	350696	2615995	7.14	27.09	374	11440	21.16	67.24	56.99
83	AD-D07-50581	292513	2659078	7.16	122	743	37400	19.19	59.41	73.86
84	AD-D07-50679	289732	2684731	7.25	78.87	561	25800	21.49	65.83	69.04
85	AD-D07-51163	276147	2656675	7.24	76.79	281	18790	28.03	77.46	70.51
86	AD-D07-52019	276334	2666011	7.12	213	1170	57000	33.09	76.37	76.57
87	AD-D07-52115	278831	2678412	7.05	187	585	40200	23.09	69.41	76.34
88	AD-D07-52130	272760	2676813	7.23	98.01	551	30000	27.79	74.40	69.75
89	AD-D07-52196	281091	2686620	7.19	123	748	33200	23.72	69.59	67.61
90	AD-D07-52543	281103	2669433	7.13	208	1565	62000	33.37	79.30	73.86
91	AD-D08-00706	344323	2672555	7.41	32.9	152	7290	20.72	79.31	69.08
92	AD-D08-10878	335720	2665805	7.44	30.08	202	8700	19.85	72.04	69.76
93	AD-D08-11502	338764	2690585	7.08	70	565	22400	17.69	62.69	61.89
94	AD-D08-50735	309864	2670653	7.65	36.77	191	13140	20.64	61.36	78.38
95	AD-D08-50954	331187	2673639	7.81	21.5	103	4260	27.73	65.97	69.73
96	AD-D08-52478	320342	2666783	7.32	21.92	117	11470	24.19	71.48	79.97
97	AD-D08-54000	311962	2658408	7.14	35.69	187	10300	32.70	77.12	42.07
98	AD-D08-54066	306080	2664109	7.27	44.98	280	15610	27.55	71.43	63.81
99	AD-D08-54571	318581	2655035	6.91	112	771	26700	27.09	68.68	59.78
100	AD-D08-54744	298567	2678330	7.31	67.59	444	20700	21.62	62.14	68.38
101	AD-D08-57340	296081	2676820	7.15	91.73	397	18140	30.38	69.49	70.89
102	AD-D08-61723	321065	2691477	7.44	33.86	257	8920	25.96	66.90	66.94
103	AD-D08-65025	328338	2675304	7.46	14.67	140	4670	28.72	68.64	66.77
104	AD-D08-65130	305313	2650669	7.29	138	631	31100	26.33	70.21	65.44
105	AD-D08-68052	341355	2650168	7.26	65.42	257	16590	22.11	59.49	66.40
106	AD-D09-01342	353069	2653411	7.1	84.77	518	23400	26.97	62.95	67.30
107	AD-D09-51389	371597	2679943	7.12	21.76	173	4460	33.91	73.00	60.55
108	AD-D09-51435	381069	2664497	8.64	9.55	51	2600	31.81	72.57	80.80
109	AD-D09-51440	378823	2672154	7.39	10.41	58	2150	27.82	68.98	80.00
110	AD-D09-52282	372367	2666666	6.78	57.2	236	13960	25.91	66.32	63.70
111	AD-D09-52286	372776	2666119	6.99	54.81	191	12720	27.21	66.99	65.11
112	AD-D09-52291	373142	2666346	6.85	45.57	146	10320	39.58	77.40	63.10
113	AD-D09-54078	366543	2678824	7.23	17.48	203	5030	8.03	64.77	51.21
114	AD-D09-54211	355766	2684860	7.52	37.05	673	14380	40.15	73.64	59.28
115	AD-D09-57249	347478	2689751	7.8	15.47	38	4780	25.99	70.52	92.82
116	AD-D09-57285	384668	2677819	8.02	6.62	61	2850	39.23	77.38	76.93
117	AD-D09-57873	349723	2653217	6.94	116	675	31100	7.07	49.37	63.11
118	AD-D09-58041	394827	2661900	8.88	6.03	12	1206	31.67	67.33	88.62
119	AD-D09-58675	375990	2679546	7.48	6.84	144	2400	9.23	54.88	38.47
120	AD-D09-58863	358886	2675279	7.51	23.36	175	4480	33.21	71.63	56.70
121	AD-D09-58914	389680	2665752	7.71	6.24	48	1522	44.14	76.64	69.72
122	AD-D09-58951	353722	2681187	7.49	16.14	74	3160	10.24	69.91	72.50
123	AD-D09-58992	367492	2668960	7.24	41.35	346	7960	11.22	69.34	60.20
124	AD-D09-60967	375176	2686449	7.17	13.48	232	5020	20.24	82.46	53.84
125	AD-D09-61320	374599	2680430	7.09	14.33	247	5010	43.96	76.15	55.82
126	AD-D09-61871	371268	2677688	7.15	21.07	142	4630	11.70	68.14	50.21
127	AD-E08-52351	326971	2716425	7.14	75.37	518	29900	12.28	58.03	77.82
128	AD-E08-55971	313477	2709027	7.32	5.98	428	15640	13.00	67.62	61.17
129	AD-E08-56206	330056	2716275	7.27	78.06	537	29100	14.60	66.94	73.36
130	AD-E08-58905	340074	2720087	7.22	37.1	382	18260	16.63	78.27	70.41
131	AD-E08-59703	330144	2700626	7.48	47	337	14280	15.17	61.68	69.77
132	AD-E08-59764	318067	2718002	7.24	74.28	495	21400	18.44	57.64	71.97
133	AD-E08-60312	318835	2724002	8.78	52.4	631	22100	19.18	66.39	57.92
134	AD-E09-00421	366385	2715527	7.11	43.17	371	9940	17.72	61.80	51.85
135	AD-E09-51135	349788	2713064	7.34	28.45	85	8330	16.75	61.58	82.10
136	AD-E09-54766	351344	2718883	8.26	11.28	42	2220	22.26	66.23	78.67
137	AD-E09-57465	367623	2725440	7.93	6.28	28	968	39.59	84.55	79.37
138	AD-E09-58094	374402	2714208	7.89	11.65	68	6440	27.37	77.94	83.90
139	AD-E09-58522	360488	2731922	7.56	20.44	154	5940	29.61	74.69	58.08
140	AD-E09-59956	378340	2740269	8.03	5.27	43	1104	26.46	68.12	74.52
141	AD-E09-59993	366377	2728456	7.7	14.66	65	2860	55.55	76.39	79.17
142	AD-E09-60539	356085	2714001	7.72	22.05	238	7660	27.69	65.38	48.10
143	AD-E09-60563	354090	2700541	9.08	46.37	292	17300	54.18	73.64	85.04
144	AD-E09-61124	376591	2701480	7.49	23.24	365	7970	34.80	69.16	46.03
145	AD-E09-61296	376168	2699222	8.92	6.53	65	1742	48.86	77.44	55.60

For a visualization of the parameters and indices, Table 3 has statistical summary report of each chemical parameter.

Table 3.

Summary report for each of the chemical parameters and indices together with histogram plot with imposed normal distribution. The first 7 reports are for the following parameters: pH, Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, HCO₃⁻, EC, Cl⁻ and the last 3 reports are for the 4 indices.

From Fig. 1, some of the parameters have high positive correlation and others have very low correlations. The correlations that appear in Bold are the ones with a correlation greater than 0.8. The Figure shows that significant correlations exist between EC with Na, then Cl with Na, EC with Cl, Mg with Cl, Mg with Na, and K with Mg. This clearly shows that Na, Cl, K and Mg can be put in one category or one factor. This also can be seen from Fig. 2, which shows the dendogram of similarity between the 7 parameters.

Fig. 1.

Matrix plot representing the scatter plot between the chemical parameters together with Pearson correlation matrix between the chemical parameters.

Fig. 2.

The Dendrogram plot for the chemical parameters using the correlation coefficient distance as a measure for similarity between the parameters.

The dendrogram plot shows that 3 factors can be enough to explain the variability in the data which are pH, HCO₃ and any other parameter from the other 5. Namely, Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, EC, Cl⁻. Coming back to the calculated indices, Fig. 3, shows the scatter plots of the indices together with Pearson correlation matrix between the indices.

Fig. 3.

Matrix plot representing the scatter plot between the calculated indices: IWIQ, SAR, %Na and PI and the Pearson correlation matrix between them.

Notice that the correlations between the indices are clearly very low either positively or negatively. This is also clear from the dendrogram plot of the indices as shown in Fig. 4. Two categories were obtained, the first category is between SAR and Na%, and the second one between IWQI and PI.

Fig. 4.

The Dendrogram plot for the four indices using the correlation coefficient distance as a measure for similarity between the indices.

2. Experimental Design, Materials and Methods

Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) has conducted a project to investigate the quality of groundwater in selected hydrogeological areas in Abu Dhabi Emirate. The sampling campaign took place during the period extended from January until April 2018, followed directly by samples analysis. The study area comprised of 39 grid cells in the Al Ain Region and 60 grid cells in Al Dhafra Region, Fig. 5. The 145 water samples were collected from the groundwater wells located in the study area and subjected for main physico-chemical parameters including pH, EC, HCO₃⁻, TDS, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, and Cl⁻. Field measurments were done using pre-calibrated portable WTW-equipment (WTW, Germany). While standard methods of the examination of water and wastewater edition 21st and EPA method 2007 were followed for the laboratory water analyses [1,2]. The samples’ analyses were conducted at SGS Gulf Limited Laboratories, Jabel Ali free zone, Dubai.

Fig. 5.

Groundwater Quality Grid.

The sampling criteria based on three main factors; each grid should have at least one sampling well and dominate land use in the study area, and special land use should be reflected on sampling wells. The main identified land uses were dates farms, farmland, forest, livestock areas, leisure and landscaped areas, high- and low-density urban areas, industrial, and remote areas. The GIS data was located for each grid cell based on the dominated land use. Prior the sample collection, filed data were collected through filed visits, interviews with well's owner or operator, carrying some filed measurements (pH, EC, water table, etc.), site inspection, and pictures documentation. The groundwater wells were classified into two types: operational well and idle well. The operational wells are available in the farms and forests areas. They are already in use and have a pump installed. So, water samples were collected using the existing well-setup and field measurements were taken directly, Fig. 6. While idle wells are located within undeveloped areas and were not equipped with pump. So, groundwater samples were collected using different procedure. The well head/cap was removed, water level was measured using water level indicator, low-flow sampling equipment was employed in the well including submersible sampling pump, sampling hose, electrical power cable, Fig. 7. After obtaining a constant water flow typically less than 500 ml/min, filed measurement was done and water samples were collected in clean containers and transported to the laboratory. The well head was fixed and closed after the sample collection.

Fig. 6.

Operational Well filed measurement.

Fig. 7.

Idle Well filed measurement.

Declaration of Competing Interest

None.