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Groundwater is the only water resource for many countries in arid and semi-arid regions. In order to get a scientific base for groundwater assessment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the authors carried out a 4 years groundwater monitoring program from 1994 to 1997. Water samples were taken from 150 wells throughout UAE. Major ions and isotopes in water were analyzed. Chemical analyses allow groundwater to be grouped in five groups: mountain regions, fans and wadis, sand dune, inland sabkha and coastal sabkha. It was found that chemical components and isotopes of groundwater in mountain regions are very similar to that in fan and wadis, which means that the wadis and fans are very important recharge areas. Authors also compared the chemical variations in groundwater before and after a heavy rain event that caused big floods in wadis. It was found that water quality changed very greatly in groundwater of mountain region, fans and wadis, and little in other regions. Finally, groundwater quality was assessed from the point of view of both hydrogeology and hydrochemistry.