ABSTRACT
The intrusion of saline water in groundwater is considered as a special category of pollution, making groundwater resources unsuitable for human, industrial and irrigation uses. Under natural conditions, the seawater with higher density displaces the deep inland freshwater. This process is intensified by prolonged groundwater abstraction for domestic, agricultural and industrial needs and consequently results in degradation of the chemical quality of subsurface water sources and in extreme cases can result in abandonment of freshwater supply wells. Correspondingly, one part (a portion of a whole) of seawater containing, e.g., 35,000 mg/l of dissolved salts can degrade 33.5 parts of fresh water from 500 mg/l to 1,500 mg/l (i.e., from acceptable to nonacceptable level). It should be noted that a 2-3% of salinity, makes freshwater unsuitable for human consumption, and slightly higher levels make it unusable for agriculture and irrigation uses (Bruington 1972, Bear et al. 1999).
