Salinity Origin in the Groundwater of the Kenadsa Carboniferous Sandstone (Southwest Algeria).

The arid regions are characterized by the scarcity of water resources which is a factor hindering socio-economic and agricultural development, in some cases the available resources have a quality, and even more problematic is the salinity. The Kenadsa Carboniferous sandstone aquifer (southwestern Algeria) is a hydro-stratigraphic unit exploited mainly for agriculture. This development option is supported by the national fund for agricultural development, particularly in the arid regions of Algeria. A hydrochemical study was conducted on the Carboniferous sandstone aquifer, in 2009 and 2011, to identify the physicochemical quality of these groundwaters where a high level of salinity is found (mean = 4.16 mg / l), mainly related to the mineral dissolution of evaporites (halite) present in the study area