OCCURRENCE OF HYDROGEN SULFIDE IN THE GROUND WATER OF KUWAIT

Abstract

Hydrogen sulfide occurs in high concentration (10–200 mg/l) in different parts of Kuwait City and its suburbs at relatively shallow depths (15–40 m from the surface). This was revealed by drilling through the aquifer system underlying the city and sampling and analyzing the ground water at the drilled locations. The near-absence of coliform bacteria in the sulfide-rich zones, the presence of sulfur-reducing bacteria in the deep (>80 m) Dammam Formation aquifer and a linear positive relation between the concentration of hydrogen sulfide and the total dissolved solids content suggested non-anthropogenic origin of the sulfide in the ground water of Kuwait. The upward movement of sulfide-rich water from depth and its differential flushing by surface recharge through outcrops of the aquifers appear to have given rise to the present distribution of hydrogen sulfide in the aquifers underlying the Kuwait City.