Exploration and Delineation of Potable and Prolific Aquifers in Bonny Kingdom
Published: 2024-07-15
Page: 154-174
Issue: 2024 - Volume 7 [Issue 2]
W.I.A. Okuyade
Department of Mathematics/ Statistics, Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas, Bonny, Rivers State, Nigeria.
M.E. Abbey
*
Department of Science Laboratory Technology, Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas, Bonny, Rivers State, Nigeria.
D.E. Onyebueke
Department of Science Laboratory Technology, Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas, Bonny, Rivers State, Nigeria.
J.O. Ibeawuchi
Department of Building Engineering Technology, Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas, Bonny, Rivers State, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Bonny Kingdom is an island in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. It is composed of the mainland and creeked-villages, and surrounded by the Sea and Atlantic Ocean. In the Bonny Kingdom, there is water everywhere but there is little or no potable water for drinking and domestic uses. Upon this, the exploration and delineation of potable and prolific aquifers using the Vertical Electrical Sounding method is carried out. Of the many locations where the study is carried out, the reports of fourteen are considered herein, and the geologic data showing the apparent resistivity, depths, and thicknesses of the sub-surfaces are obtained, analyzed, and presented quantitatively and graphically. The results are analyzed using IPI2win iteration software, and they show that freshwater aquifers exist in the Bonny Kingdom at different degrees (some shallow and some deep) such that boreholes can be drilled to specified depths for domestic or industrial uses. The locations of the potable aquifers have been mapped out. The shallow aquifers are prone to surface influences such as contaminations and may likely dry up during the dry season; the deep aquifers have greater sustainability but require carefulness at the drilling stage to avoid encroaching into sub-surfaces with possible saline water. Furthermore, it is observed that there are more prolific freshwater aquifers on the mainland than in the villages.
Keywords: Bonny Kingdom, groundwater exploration, hydrogeology, Niger Delta, potable aquifers, prolific aquifers, Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES)