Vertical electric drilling for evaluating aquifer levels in Ukwani and ensuring

Introduction

Access to safe and clean drinking water is a globalhealth challenge and ensuring reliable and sustainablewater supply is essential for the well-being of humansand livestock (Okoroet al.,2016).Access to safedrinking water is a pre-condition for health and successin the fight against poverty, hunger, child death, andgender inequality (Lawal and Basorun, 2015) and topoverty reduction and that access to safe drinkingwater prevents the spread of water-borne andsanitation-related diseases (Ifabiyi and Ashaolu, 2013).In rural areas, groundwater is often the main source offresh water, and the construction of wells for obtaininggroundwater has been a common practice (Carrard, etal., 2019). However, the quality and quantity ofgroundwater can vary depending on the characteristicsof the aquifer such as porosity, permeability, specificyield, specific storage (Akhtar et al., 2021) 

Therefore, it is crucial to accurately characterizegroundwater resources for effective management andinfection control (Nishimuraet al., 2022)

In Ukwani, a rural area in Nigeria, where the majorsource of portable water supply has been from rainwater, streams, and hand–dug wells. It is thereforeimperative to deploy the use of vertical electricdrilling for evaluating aquifer levels there to ensurequality drinking water.

Generally speaking, geophysical surveys providescapacity to unearth the internal structure of the earth,beyond the limited depths reached by boreholes ormines, (Aristedemouand Thomas-Betts, 2000).IVertical Electrical Sounding (VES) is a geophysicalmethod that uses the variation of the electricalresistivity of the subsurface formation to gaininformation about the groundwater exploration(AdiSuryadi et al., 2023, de Almeida, et al., 2021).

The VES method is suitable for identifying thethickness of each layer, the water table, and thequality of the aquifer. The use of VES in Ukwani hasrevealed the possibility of shallow and deep aquifersin the area, thereby providing valuable informationfor optimal location of boreholes for access to safedrinking water.

In Ukwani, the need for reliable access to clean waterarose after an outbreak of cholera and typhoid in thearea. Studies have shown that poor sanitation andhygiene practices, coupled with limited access toclean water have significantly contributed to theprevalence of these diseases (Hutton and Chase, 2017,Heet al., 2018). Therefore, there has been an urgentneed to ensure quality drinking water and propersanitation facilities in the area.

The assessment of aquifer levels is essential forunderstanding the availability and accessibility ofportable drinking water in a specific area. In anevaluation of the groundwater quality in Ukwani areas,Obasi et al. (2019) reported that the majority of the wellstested had high levels of total coliforms and fecalcoliforms. These findings reinforced the need foreffective management of groundwater resources toguarantee safe drinking water in the area. The study wastherefore aimed to determine the depths at whichportable water could be found in three communities inUkwuani, namely, Ebedei, Oliogo, and Obeti respectivelythrough the use of geophysical observations.