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Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of the Groundwater in Northern Kuwait H. Ghoneim and A. Akber Hydrology Department, Water Resources Division Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research P.O. Box: 24885, 13109 Safat, Kuwait The groundwater quantity in one of the major farming areas of Kuwait (Al-Abdally) has dropped drastically and its quality has deteriorated significantly during the past three decades. Since the liberation of Kuwait from the Iraqi occupation in 1991, the farming activities in Al-Abdally have accelerated measurably as new farms were developed. This has, in turn resulted in significant decline in the groundwater level amounting to over 3.0 m in the central area. The water levels are not expected to decline significantly by the year 2010. in some areas. The qualitative deterioration of the groundwater was manifested in the high levels of groundwater constituents including total dissolved solids (TDS), major inorganic constituents such as Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl-, SO42-, HCO3-, CO32- and NO3-, as well as minor and trace inorganic constituents including Fe2+, Mn, Zn, Pb, B, Ni, Sr, Li, H2S, PO4, and SiO2 . The levels of these constituents exceeded, by far, the standards set by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations for water used in irrigation and animal husbandry. This situation has prompted the concerned authorities in Kuwait to undertake major studies to investigate the current status and the future prospects of the groundwater in Al-Abdally in an attempt to generate public awareness among the local farmers of the consequences of uncontrolled withdrawal of the ground water from the aquifers underlying their farms. The Kuwaiti government has also engaged in a rigorous monitoring program of the groundwater in the major farming areas from the qualitative and the quantitative standpoints as a result of the fact that it had arrived to the conclusion that not only should the quantities of groundwater produced be limited but also specific horizons from which ground water is withdrawn should be tapped. Moreover, the high concentration of the above groundwater constituents should prompt further in-depth investigations to understand the source and fate of these elements in the ground water of the farms areas of Kuwait. This attention should be brought to bear in light of the potential irreversible detrimental effects of these elements on the crops, livestock and soils of these farms which can eventually lead to the abandonment of many farms, a situation which Kuwait can not afford in its strive to achieve self-sufficiency in food.