Hydrochemical assessment of groundwater in mesozoic sedimentary aquifers in an arid region: a case study from Wadi Nisah in Central Saudi Arabia

Wadi Nisah which lies to the south of Riyadh city is an important source of groundwater supply and agricultural production in the central region of Saudi Arabia. Twenty-nine groundwater samples were collected from wells tapping the shallow alluvial aquifer as well as the Mesozoic Manjur and Dhruma aquifer in western Wadi Nisah. The interpretation of the results of the major ion analysis reveals that geogenic factors mainly rock–water interaction...