A coupled model simulation assessment of shallow water-table rise in a Saudi Arabian coastal city

•The study aim was to investigate the cause of a rising shallow water table in Dammam city, eastern Saudi Arabia.•This study was conducted by combining geophysical and hydrogeological investigations with numerical modelling.•A coupled HYDRUS-MODFLOW modelling package was applied to simulate the vadose and saturated zones.•Leakages from underground pipe network systems were found to be the principal contributors to the shallow water-table rise problem.