Iris Publishers
Authored by Julius Otutu Oseji
This study was carried out to determine
the aquifer vulnerability and groundwater quality using geophysical and
physiochemical methods in parts of Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta
State. Thirty vertical electrical soundings and four dipole-dipole profiling
were administered using Abeam Terameter SAS 1000 AB. The field data were curve
matched and Iterated using Win resist and Dipro software. The auriferous zone
was found in the fourth layer with resistivity ranging from 159 Ωm – 100234 Ωm,
thickness ranging from 12m – 156 m and depth of 32m – 162m except VES 25 whose
aquifer is in third layer. The dipole – dipole resistivity structure shows low
resistivity values along areas where waste dump was sited with resistivity
ranging from 300 Ωm to 630 Ωm. This finding suggests that the leachate from the
dumpsite is affecting the characteristics possessed by the subsurface close to
it. The first order geoelectric and Dar-Zarrouk parameters study of aquifer
protective capacity revealed a protection capacity value of less than 0.1 for VES
1 – 18 and 20 – 30 while VES 19 revealed a value of 0.24. Thus, Oghara
communities are extremely unprotected and the aquifer is prone to
contamination. Physiochemical analysis carried out indicates that groundwater
is slightly acidic with pH value ranging from 5.40 – 6.40 when compared with
WHO permissible limit. The groundwater flow direction depicts flow from the
East to the West; this will assist policy planners to decide places where
dumpsites and other companies generating waste could be sited to preserve
groundwater potential.
Water
is among the natural resources of great need to man all over the world, and
groundwater that is responsible for the springs, lakes and wells [1] is a major
source of water to man especially in developing nation and rural communities
where availability of requisite public infrastructure for surface water
treatment, reticulation and supply are inadequate or non-existent.
The
Electrical Resistivity methods were used in this investigation due to the use
of simple instrument; easy and straight forward field logistics, less tedious
and economic analysis of data. This is the reason why many researchers such as
[2-11] used the method for the determination of aquifer boundary.
The
availability of groundwater depends on the presence and hydraulic properties of
auriferous (groundwater bearing) units; and its portability depends on its
hydro geochemical properties and vulnerability to contamination/ pollution
[12-16]. Aquifer vulnerability refers to the degree of protection against
contamination offered by the overlying strata and the potential for
purification of contaminated water in the aquifer [17-20].
Oghara
located in the oil rich Niger Delta Basin in Delta State, Nigeria, can be
regarded as a fast-developing town characterized by relatively high population
density occasioned by the large number of industries, commercial centers and
civil service institutions.
Supply
of potable water in Oghara communities in particular and parts of Ethiope West
Local Government Area of Delta State in general is inadequate as a result of
increasing population and development activities in the area.
The
regional water crises in nations of the world can be resolved and sustained, if
groundwater resources are effectively managed. In Oghara Communities,
groundwater has not been properly explored before embarking on drilling
boreholes which results in large number of low yielding and/or failed
boreholes. Foster [21] observed that there has been success in groundwater
development through borehole drilling in area underlain by crystalline hard
rocks in Nigeria. Development of secondary porosity and permeability within the
basement rocks are responsible for the availability of groundwater which
results from weathering and fracturing [22]. Fresh water supply is increasingly
sourced from ground water which act as the supply of fresh water under the
earth’s surface in an aquifer that forms a natural reservoir for human use
Udosen [23]. Moreso, surface water is all the naturally open to the atmosphere
(rivers, lakes, reservoir, streams seas etc) and all spring wells or other
collectors which are directly influenced by surface FEPA [24]. Surface water
can be polluted when there are presences of pollutants like radioactive
isotopes, heavy metals bacteria and viruses among others. There is a global
concern on water pollution as it affects human health and one of the causes of
ground water pollution is the disposal of waste materials directly onto the
surface Waziri, et al. [25], Wells [26], WHO [27,28]. The waste if contains
soluble material will insinuate thereby leading to ground water pollution
Waziri et al., [25], Kola & Baba [29].
For successful groundwater exploitation
in order to limit dry borehole and loss of resources there is need to determine
aquifer vulnerability using geophysical and physiochemical methods in parts of
Ethiope West Local Government Area Delta State.
Oghara is a town in Ethiope West Local
Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria and is located between latitude
5O35′1’’N and longitude 5O51’16’’E. The Communities include: Ogharefe,
Oghareki, Edjemuonyavwe, Ijomi, Otefe, Ovade, Ugbenu and Mosogar. The base map
of the study area is shown in Figure 1. It has road intersections connecting
Sapele to Warri and Benin. It resides within the equatorial region having two
climatic regimes which is the rainy season and dry season. Typically, the
region has the characteristic feature of the humid tropical wet and dry climate
governed primarily by the rainfall. The dry season is from November to February
and the wet season is from March to October. Oghara community is in the Niger
Delta Basin characterized by three majors depositional (sedimentary)
environments (marine, mixed, and continental).
The
people are predominantly farmers producing food crops, like cassava (starch and
garri), maize, plantain, yam and other variety of vegetable products. They are
big time timber merchants and also into palm oil production. Oghara has a good
number of Tertiary Institutions such as the Delta State University Teaching
Hospital located in Edjemuonyavwe, the Western Delta University in Ogharefe,
the Delta State Polytechnics in Otefe, the Electoral Institute (INEC) in
Edjemuonyavwe, and a campus of the National Teachers Institute Kaduna in
Oghareki where Teachers are trained for the Teacher’s grade two Certificate (TC
II) and the Nigeria Certificate of Education (NCE). There is also the Pan -
Ocean Oil Corporation in Ovade, the Nigeria Gas Company Ovade and about fifteen
oil tanks farms/wells which distribute petroleum products to many parts of
Nigeria. There is JK Rubber Industries Ltd, Ogharefe, Pamol Rubber Company Ltd,
Edjemuonyavwe and Pamol Oil Palm Company Ltd Ajagbodudu. It has a mini Stadium
in Ogharefe that has hosted many National and International Football
Competitions. It also has the Nigerian Naval logistics headquarters in Ogharefe
and a Mobile Police base in Oghareki. Local Geology: Three major depositional
(sedimentary) environments (marine, mixed, and continental) are observable in
the area.
Based on the sedimentary environmental
classification, three rocks formations namely the Benin, Agbada, and Akata
formation are used to describe the sedimentary sequence. In the Niger Delta oil
producing communities, the source rocks and seal rocks are the marine/deltaic,
plastic and over-pressured shales of Akata and Agbada Formations. The geology
of the study area shows the presence of clay, sand, pebbles, sandstone, gravel,
shales, mangrove swamp, lignite, and Alluvium.
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