Geoelectrical exploration of the Coastal Plain Sands of Okitipupa area, southwestern Nigeria
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Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Abstract
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The quest for sustainable potable water is an unendless struggle as it is one of the pillars that
sustain the growth of any community. Okitipupa is being challenged with a low level of access to
safe and sustainable water for human activities, thereby limiting the source of potable water in
the area to groundwater resource. In this study, a vertical electrical sounding (VES) technique
employing Schlumberger electrode array was used to conduct a geophysical survey in Okitipupa
to assess the groundwater potentials and locate promising zones for groundwater exploitation.
VES was carried out at 48 locations. The lithological units obtained are topsoil, lateritic sand,
clayey sand, silty sand, sand (which is the main aquifer), sandy clay and shale. The topsoil is
characterized by clay and lateritic sands. The aquiferous units vary from the second to fifth
layers where two percent of the total sounding points showed no signs of groundwater. The range
of the delineated aquifer’s depths varied from 0.5 to 1.5 m, 0.8 to 14.9 m, 4.2 to 123.4 m and
29.7 to 164.1 m, respectively. The estimated longitudinal conductance in this study indicates that
the aquifer’s protective capacities vary from poor to good ratings. The central, northwestern and
southern parts are the promising zones for groundwater exploration in the study area, with
aquifer’s depths ranging from 0.5 to 164.1 m. As a result of the nature of lithology of the studied
aquifers, discharge of toxic substances that could contaminate the aquifer should be avoided in
the study area.
Keywords
QC Physics