Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Science - Department of Geology

Several residential areas particularly those of low altitude zones in Kuwait City have high water table problems, apparently resulting from severe consequences of urbanization expansion. The potential impacts of this phenomenon include reduction of the bearing capacity of foundation soils, and damage to properties and submerged facilities, as well as soil expansion. Reinterpretation and integrate of available hydrogeological well data associated with field investigation indicate that the geological causative factors including land topography, hydrotectonic setting, lithological and geotechnical properties of aquifer bedding (particularly the spatial distribution of 2gatch3 deposits within the principal 2shallow3 aquifer materials underneath Kuwait City), are the most efficient (key) factors. They control the pattern and the magnitude of water table fluctuation and natural and man-made recharging capacity. The gatch deposits which are intercalated in different depths with the aquifer layers are mainly low permeable calcareous duricrust sediments that retard the groundwater flow and consequently affect the mechanisms of water rise. Usually gatch deposits are associated with swelled clays such as palygorskite and mixed-layer illite/ smectite clay minerals. They cause significant soil expansion and fracturing by raising water levels adjacent or underneath soil of foundation. The present study, may contribute to the solution this problem through updating the available hydrogeological well data and integrating them with recent spatial analysis and change detection of both urban growth and water table fluctuation using time satellite images during 2000-2015 period. Moreover, natural and manmade causative factors controlling this phenomenon were discussed through constructed hydrogeological cross-sections in certain controlling hydrotectonic trends

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