Journal of African Earth Sciences 35 (2002) 433443

www.elsevier.com/locate/jafrearsci

Delineation of shallow groundwater aquifers in the coastal

plain sands of Calabar area (Southern Nigeria) using surface
resistivity and hydrogeological data
A.E. Edet
a

a,b,*

, C.S. Okereke

Institute for Geology, TU Bergakademie, Gustav Zeuner Str 12 09599, Freiberg, Germany
b
Department of Geology, University of Calabar, POB 3609, Calabar, Nigeria
Accepted 1 October 2002

Abstract
A combination of surface resistivity and hydrogeological data has been used to identify dierent water bearing horizons within
the coastal plain sands of the Calabar area in southern Nigeria.
Results show that two major water bearing horizons exist in the area: (i) an upper zone consisting of medium- to coarse-grained
sands and gravels having a mean formation resistivity of 1500 Xm (gravelly zone) and (ii) a lower zone consisting of ne- to mediumgrained sands with a mean formation resistivity of 320 Xm (sandy zone). The estimated aquifer parameters (hydraulic conductivity
k, transmissivity T , specic capacity SC, specic capacity index I, coecient of aquifer capacity CAC, coecient of aquifer variability CAV) are higher in the gravelly zone in comparison to the sandy zone. Rating of these zones on the basis of formation
resistivity (aquifer layer resistivity), FR, specic capacity, transmissivity, T and total dissolved solids, TDS show that the upper and
the lower zones can best be described as very good (VG) and slightly good (SG), respectively, in terms of quantity of groundwater.
However, the upper zone is highly vulnerable to surface pollution compared to the lower zone.
2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.
Keywords: Coastal plain sand; Groundwater; Resistivity; Calabar; Nigeria

1. Introduction
Hydrogeological units are mappable bodies of rock
and/or soil having similar hydrological properties (Laney
and Davidson, 1986). However, this denition is dicult
to apply in sedimentary terrain of highly variable lithologic character such as the Calabar area and parts of
southern Nigeria built on silicic deposits of the high energy Niger Delta. Here the delta formations are marked
by considerable variations in thickness of permeable
sand zones and facies change to clays and clayey sands.
These layers act as impervious barriers, thus resulting in
a multi-aquifer system (Mbonu et al., 1991; Esu et al.,
1999; Okereke et al., 1998). Research conducted over the
past years has used a series of geo-electrical studies for
groundwater exploration and exploitation in the Calabar
area and environs (see Edet, 1993).
*

Corresponding author. Permanent address: Department of Geology, University of Calabar, POB 3609, Calabar, Nigeria.
E-mail address: aniekanedet@yahoo.com (A.E. Edet).

Studies have shown that coastal plain aquifers contain enormous quantities of water which requires optimisation and management to minimize the intrusion of
saltwater as a result of overexploitation (Vengosh and
Ben-Zvi, 1994; Petalas and Diamantis, 1999; Babu et al.,
2002). This problem is, however, being given attention
in some countries by regulating the drilling and exploitation by private people (Montenegro et al., 2001).
The initial step towards a solution to this problem is
the proper identication and delineation of the water
bearing units using either geological or geophysical or
chemical data or a combination of any two of all of
the three techniques. Examples of such work include
Frohlich et al. (1994), Esu et al. (1999), Okereke et al.
(1998), Choudhury et al. (2001), Garcia et al. (2001),
Goldman et al. (2001), Hodlur et al. (2002) and Martinez and Bocanegra (2002).
This paper describes how geo-electrical and borehole
drill data have been used to identify the dierent water
bearing zones in the area described as the Coastal Plain
Sand aquifer. Second, the main features of a correlation

0899-5362/02/$ - see front matter 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

PII: S 0 8 9 9 - 5 3 6 2 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 1 4 8 - 3

434

A.E. Edet, C.S. Okereke / Journal of African Earth Sciences 35 (2002) 433443

between formation resistivity (aquifer layer resistivity)

and some hydrogeological parameters are outlined. This
is intended as a guide to the interpretation of future geoelectrical data and also a means to improve the success/
failure rate of groundwater well/borehole drilling in the
area. This work is also a contribution towards the ongoing aquifer vulnerability studies in the area.

2. Area description
The study area, Calabar is the capital city of Cross
River State (Fig. 1). It has a population of 300,000
people and covers an approximate area of 200 km2 , of
which only 35% is inhabited. The climatic data for the
period 19802000 (Table 1) show that the monthly
temperature varies between 23.1 (January) and 28.7 C
(February) and the monthly precipitation varies from a
low of 26.7 mm in February to a high of 459.1 mm in
July.
The major rivers draining the study area are the
Calabar and the Great Kwa Rivers owing southwards
into the Cross River, which empties into the Gulf of
Guinea (Fig. 1). The recorded discharge for the Cross
River varies between 200
106 and 8000
106 m3 in

Table 1
Meteorological and discharge dataa
Month

Temperature
(C)

Precipitation
(mm)

Discharge
(106 m3 )

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

23.70
28.70
28.40
27.90
27.30
26.30
25.40
25.20
25.80
26.10
26.90
27.10

32.30
26.70
165.80
199.10
287.60
404.40
459.10
407.20
404.60
343.30
145.50
28.10

350.00
200.00
250.00
460.00
1100.00
1900.00
2420.00
5170.00
8000.00
6500.00
1960.00
760.00

Maximum
Minimum
Mean

28.70
23.70
26.60

459.10
26.70
242.00

8000.00
200.00
2423.00

Compiled from CRBDA (1982).

February and September, respectively (Table 1). High

discharge is consistent with decrease in temperature (correlation coecient, r 0:615, probability, p 0:033)
and increase in the amount of precipitation (r 0:769,
p 0:003).

Fig. 1. Study area including all the sample locations.

A.E. Edet, C.S. Okereke / Journal of African Earth Sciences 35 (2002) 433443

Geologically, the area is composed of Tertiary to Recent continental uviatile sands and clays, known as the
Coastal Plain Sands, laid down in an upper deltaic plain
environment (Short and Stauble, 1967).

3. Data acquisition
The present study uses data from electrical resistivity
surveys and drilling acquired by the authors between

435

1990 and 2000. The resistivity data was derived from

vertical electrical sounding (VES) measurements using
the ABEM terrameter SAS 300B and the gga 30 terrameter. For control, data from some of the occupied locations were obtained using both equipment sets and the
results compared. The error was generally found to be
negligible. The drilling was carried out by various private contractors and the government through its water
development agencies during the study period. The
sampled localities are presented in Fig. 1 and Table 2.

Table 2
Sample localities, type and designations
No.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45

Sample no.

CA 2
CA 3
CA 4
CA 8
CA 10
CA 11
CA 14
CA 16
CA 17
CA 21
CA 22
CA 24
CA 26
CA 30
CA 31
CA 35
CA 37
CA 41
CA 42
CA 44
CA 46
CA 47
CA 48
CA 49
CA 50
CA 52
CA 55
CA 57
CA 61
CA 64
CA 66
CA 67
CA 69
CA 70
CA 72
CA 73
CA 74
CA 75
CA 76
AK 1
AK 2
CR 1
CR 2
CR 3
CR 4

Coordinates
North

East

455.019
455.070
455.105
455.674
455.681
455.701
455.877
456.085
456.225
456.546
456.568
456.674
456.897
456.777
457.100
457.411
457.558
457.873
457.918
458.337
458.778
458.884
459.129
459.165
459.314
459.789
500.291
500.622
501.021
501.719
502.820
503.203
504.632
458.178
502.222
500.443
458.444
457.833
458.885
433.100
438.333
450.322
445.100
500.001
508.033

819.208
819.560
819.407
819.346
818.975
818.785
819.760
819.007
820.537
819.021
818.580
819.539
819.629
820.508
819.933
818.664
818.988
819.224
821.207
821.332
821.138
820.631
820.806
820.090
819.739
819.272
820.453
820.355
819.572
820.503
821.413
821.608
821.399
819.795
821.144
819.951
819.882
819.955
819.500
800.200
815.005
825.667
833.001
815.005
810.667

BH, borehole; VES, vertical electrical sounding.

Site name

Sample type

Mesembe avenue
Anantigha
Apostolic rd
Umoh Orok str
Eneobong str
Afokang end
Polycal
Mbukpa rd
Unical
Edergerly rd
Esierebom str
Manye ave
Webber/Atu str
Goldie/Mt Zion str
Goldie/Etoi str
Volvo Mkt
Nkwa str
Moore rd
Edim Otop
Nyang Asang
FGGC
Nsek str
Ediba
State Housing
Spring rd
Assembly village
Eso Ita/Ikot Ansa
Old road/Ikot Ansa
Esuk Utan
Federal Housing
Basin Town
Ikot Eneobong
Ikot Ekpo
Big Qua 1
Ikot Efanga
Ikot Anwatim
King str
IBB way
Leopard rd
Upenekang
Enwang
Ikot Edem Odo
Ikang
Ikot Ekong
Obot Eyo

BH
BH, VES
BH
BH
BH
BH
BH, VES
BH
BH, VES
BH, VES
BH
BH
BH
BH, VES
BH, VES
BH
VES
BH
BH, VES
BH, VES
BH
BH, VES
BH, VES
BH
BH, VES
BH, VES
BH, VES
BH, VES
BH
BH, VES
VES
BH, VES
BH, VES
BH
BH
BH
BH
BH
BH, VES
BH, VES
BH, VES
BH, VES
BH, VES
VES
VES

436

A.E. Edet, C.S. Okereke / Journal of African Earth Sciences 35 (2002) 433443

For comparison purposes, the coverage extends beyond

the study area to include some localities underlain by the
same geologic setting. In all VES surveys were carried
out in 20 localities and data from 37 wells/boreholes
were considered. Of this number, 19 represented
both VES and drill data points. Outside the study
area, six VES and four drill data points were considered.
The four drill points were occupied during the VES
survey.
The interpretation of the VES data has been carried
out using conventional partial-curve matching and
auxiliary point techniques together with computer
modelling (Zohdy, 1965; Zohdy et al., 1974) using RES2DINV. The inferred geo-electrical models of the
subsurface were found to be generally in good agreement with the lithologic logs of nearby wells/boreholes.
This comparison enabled the successful identication of
the dierent water bearing units, which were further
characterised using hydrogeological parameters.

4. Results
4.1. Geo-electrical and lithologic characteristics
Fig. 2 shows typical geo-electrical curves corresponding to the VES data. The sounding curves are of
the K-type (Zohdy et al., 1974), depicting a three layer
sampled subsurface in which the middle layer is more

Fig. 2. Typical geo-electrical curves.

resistive than the top and bottom layers (q1 < q2 > q3 ).
The derived results for all the sampled localities within
the study area are presented in Table 3. The rst geoelectric layer has resistivity values in the range 903900
Xm with a mean of 700 Xm. Sampling during the rainy
season (March to October) and the clayey and silty
nature of the near surface are responsible for relatively
low resistivity values (<500 Xm) of this layer at localities
CA 14, CA 21, CA 30, CA 31, CA 37, CA 42, CA 50,
CA 57, CA 66, CA 67 and CA 69 (Table 3). On the
contrary, localities CA 3, CA 17, CA 44, CA 47, CA 48,
CA 52 and CA 76, with relatively higher resistivity
(>500 Xm), are underlain by sandy and gravely mate-

Table 3
Results of geo-electric survey
No.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Maximum
Minimum
Mean

Location no.

CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA

3
14
17
21
30
31
37
42
44
47
48
50
52
55
57
64
66
67
69
76

Layer resistivity (Xm)

Layer thickness (m)

1 Top

2 Upper

3 Lower

1 Top

2 Upper

1100.00
290.00
600.00
90.00
190.00
160.00
160.00
460.00
790.00
1300.00
3900.00
240.00
2400.00
360.00
380.00
300.00
300.00
200.00
90.00
530.00

1300.00
490.00
2400.00
280.00
900.00
560.00
1500.00
1200.00
2000.00
1100.00
1500.00
840.00
4800.00
1200.00
970.00
840.00
2000.00
1000.00
700.00
3700.00

500.00
150.00
240.00
80.00
180.00
170.00
50.00
350.00
590.00
510.00
220.00
340.00
1700.00
260.00
240.00
220.00
100.00
150.00
120.00
110.00

4.00
9.00
2.00
2.00
2.00
12.00
11.00
12.00
8.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
1.00
2.00
2.00
2.00
1.00
2.00
1.00
4.00

41.00
30.00
90.00
84.00
45.00
43.00
47.00
50.00
23.00
77.00
65.00
27.00
36.00
40.00
46.00
65.00
39.00
66.00
71.00
68.00

3900.00
90.00
700.00

4800.00
280.00
1500.00

1700.00
50.00
320.00

12.00
1.00
4.30

90.00
23.00
52.70

A.E. Edet, C.S. Okereke / Journal of African Earth Sciences 35 (2002) 433443

rials and were sampled mostly during the dry season

(NovemberFebruary). Generally, lithologic logs show
that the top layer is composed of dry lateritic, clayey,
silty, sandy, and gravely material. This layer with
thicknesses from 1 to 12 m (mean 4.3 m) below the
ground surface is unsaturated. The second geo-electric
layer, with thickness variation of between 23 and 90 m
(mean 52,7 m), has resistivity values in the range of 280
to 4800 Xm (mean 1500 Xm). It is made up of saturated
medium-to coarse-grained sands, gravels, sandy gravels
and minor silts and clay. The variation in level of occurrence and thickness of these silts and clays are responsible for the high variation in the resistivity values of
this layer. The third layer revealed by the VES data has
resistivity values in the range 501700 Xm (mean 320
Xm) which corresponds to ne- to medium-grained
sands. Again the intercalations of coarse sandy and
gravelly materials within this layer are responsible for
the variation in resistivity values.
Generally, well/borehole data indicate that the subsurface geology is made up of alternating sequences of
gravels, sands, silts, clays and lignites occurring at various levels with variable thicknesses. Typical lithologic
logs are presented alongside the geo-electric sections in
Fig. 3.

437

4.2. Hydrogeological characteristics

Static water level measurements vary from a minimum of 4.6 m Anantigha (CA 3) to a maximum of 70.2
m at Ikot Eneobong (CA 67) and Ikot Ekpo (CA 69).
The mean value is 44.5 m (Table 4). The water level
decreases southwards (Fig. 4).
Pumping test data at well discharge of between 1 and
44 L s1 showed that the screened zones hydraulic conductivity varies between 61.2 (CA 69) to 180.0 (CA 17)
m d1 with corresponding transmissivity in the range
24.2647 m2 d1 . Using the technique outlined by Niwas
and Singhal (1981) for an entire aquifer, the geo-electrical model parameters (Table 3, Fig. 3) yield similar
values for hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity in
the the range 150014,400 m2 d1 for the entire Coastal
Plain Sands aquifer in the modelled section (Table 5).
These values are indicative of a dominant sandy, gravely
lithology.
The productivity of the wells/boreholes were evaluated using the specic capacity (SC) dened as the volume of water pumped per unit time (yield) per unit
drawdown (Freeze and Cherry, 1979). According to
Knopman and Hollyday (1993), specic capacity is
preferred to yield as a measure of productivity because it

Fig. 3. Some geo-electrical and lithologic logs: (a) northsouth direction; (b) eastwest direction; (c) outside study area.

25.90
4.10
13.40
459.60
24.20
181.20
14400.00
1200.00
5076.50
6.70
0.20
2.60

214.70
61.20
113.70

13.20
8.20
4.30
6.10
4.10
51.20
43.10
24.20
55.30
25.10
2928.00
1200.00
1475.00
1865.00
2313.40
0.50
0.40
0.20
0.50
0.30

73.20
80.50
73.00
103.60
61.20

360.20
71.70
270.40
275.10
356.80
459.60
4824.00
14400.00
3525.80
2715.80
7068.00
13526.00
6.70
2.70
4.40
3.40
4.50
5.00

120.60
180.00
115.60
110.50
117.80
214.70

Coecient of
aquifer capacity, CAC
(m3 d1 m1 )
Hydraulic
conductivity,
K (m d1 )
Transmissivity, T
(m2 d1 )
Specic capacity
index, Singhal
(1973) I
(m3 d1 m1 m2 )

8.70
0.30
3.40
2400.00
700.00
1246.36
Maximum
Minimum
Mean

70.20
4.60
44.49

195.00
55.00
122.82

384.40
24.20
205.60

0.80
0.50
0.30
0.70
0.40
1200.00
970.00
840.00
1000.00
700.00
56.70
57.20
56.70
70.20
70.20
7
8
9
10
11

CA
CA
CA
CA
CA

55
57
64
67
69

Lower

86.00
87.00
55.00
127.00
125.00

43.20
45.20
24.20
57.00
25.30

8.70
3.50
5.80
4.40
5.70
6.40
1300.00
2400.00
1500.00
1200.00
1100.00
1500.00
4.60
30.00
21.00
37.80
37.00
48.00
1
2
3
4
5
6

CA 3
CA17
CA 37
CA 42
CA 47
CA 48

Upper

156.00
160.00
195.00
140.00
110.00
110.00

384.40
322.30
270.40
275.10
376.10
438.10

Specic capacity
index, Walton
(1962) I
(m3 d1 m1 m1 )
Formation
resistivity,
FR (Xm)
Static water
level, SWL
(m)

Total dissolved solids,

TDS (mg l1 )

Specic
capacity, SC
(m3 d1 m1 )

Fig. 4. Depth to groundwater level.

Aquifer
type
Location
no.
No.

Table 4
Hydrogeological parameters

15.80
13.80
25.90
18.50
20.20
17.30

A.E. Edet, C.S. Okereke / Journal of African Earth Sciences 35 (2002) 433443
Coecient of
aquifer variability, CAV
(m3 d1 m1 )

438

accounts for the loss in head that is associated with

pumping of water. Walton (1962) introduced the concept of the specic capacity index (I), dened as the
specic capacity divided by the aquifer thickness penetrated. However, Singhal (1973) suggested dividing the
specic capacity by the total surface area of the aquifer
that is tapped by the well (2prh, where p is 3.14, r the
radius of the well, h is the saturated thickness of the
aquifer penetrated). Other well/borehole productivity
parameters computed include coecient of aquifer capacity (CAC) dened as a measure of the volume of
groundwater that a rock will transmit in a specied time
interval and the coecient of aquifer variability (CAV),
a measure of heterogeneity and anisotropy of the formation (Laney and Davidson, 1986). These values range
between 24.2459.6 and 4.125.9 m3 d1 m1 for CAC
and CAV, respectively (Table 4).

5. Aquifer delineation
On the basis of geo-electrical, lithological and hydrogeological data, the Coastal Plain Sand aquifer can be
divided into two major water bearing units. These are
the upper gravely and lower sandy zones.
5.1. The upper gravelly zone
This zone underlies the entire study area with thicknesses between 23 and 90 m (mean 52.7 m) and the depth
to water level is less than 50 m with a mean of 34.0 m

A.E. Edet, C.S. Okereke / Journal of African Earth Sciences 35 (2002) 433443

439

Table 5
Aquifer parameters computed from geo-eletrical data
Parameters/locations

Upper zone

1

Hydraulic conductivity (m d )
Transmissivity (m2 d1 )
Resistivity of aquifer, P (Xm)
Aquifer saturated thickness (m)
Longitudinal conductance
(1 X1 )
Transverse resistance (Xm2 )
k=l (l 1=P )
Kl
Transmissivity of aquifer
(m2 d1 )
Hydraulic conductivity of
aquifer (m d)

Lower zone

CA 3

CA 17

CA 37

CA 42

CA 47

CA 48

CA 55

CA 57

CA 64

CA 67

CA 69

120.6
361.8
1300
40
0.032

180
540
2400
80
0.033

115.6
300.2
1500
30.5
0.02

110.5
331.5
1200
24.6
0.021

117.8
530.2
1100
60
0.054

214.7
647.1
1500
63
0.042

73.2
358.8
1200
40
0.12

80.5
241.5
970
15
0.015

75
315.2
840
20,2
0.024

103.6
297.3
1000
18
0.019

61.2
247.6
700
37,8
0.054

50,681
1,52,800
0.095
4824

1,92,000
4,32,000
0.075
14,400

45,750
1,73,400
0.078
3525.8

28,290
1,27,075
0.096
2715.8

66,000
1,29,580
0.107
7068

94,500
3,22,050
0.143
13,526

1,25,640
87,840
0.061
2928

14378.5
77682.5
0.083
1200

16,968
61,320
0.087
1475

17,370
99,974
0.107
1865

36,460
42,840
0.087
2313.4

120.6

180

115.6

110.5

117.8

214.7

73.2

80.5

75

103.6

61.2

Table 6
Statistics of aquifer parameters
Parameters

SWL
TDS
FR
SC
I (Walton)
I (Singhal)
T
K
CAC
CAV

Units

m
mg l1
Xm
m3 d1 m1
m3 d1 m1 m1
m3 d1 m1 m2
m2 d1
m d1
m3 d1 m1
m3 d1 m1

Maximum

Minimum

Mean

Median

Standard deviation

Upper

Lower

Upper

Lower

Upper

Lower

Upper

Lower

Upper

Lower

48.00
195.00
2400.00
438.10
8.70
6.70
14400.00
214.70
459.60
25.90

70.20
127.00
1200.00
43.20
0.80
0.50
2928.00
73.20
51.20
13.20

4.60
110.00
1100.00
270.40
3.50
2.70
2715.80
110.50
71.70
13.80

56.70
55.00
700.00
24.20
0.30
0.20
1200.00
61.20
24.20
4.10

29.73
145.17
1500.00
344.40
5.75
4.45
7676.60
143.20
300.00
18.60

62.20
96.00
942.00
40.00
0.54
0.38
1956.30
78.30
39.80
7.20

33.50
148.00
1400.00
349.20
5.75
4.45
5946.00
119.20
316.00
17.90

57.20
87.00
970.00
43.20
0.50
0.40
1865.00
73.20
43.10
6.10

15.23
32.62
469.04
66.56
1.79
1.38
5094.43
43.48
131.10
4.21

7.31
30.27
186.87
14.03
0.21
0.13
686.24
15.74
14.50
3.75

(Tables 4 and 6).This zone is highly exploited in the

southern and south central parts of the study area due to
the increase in depth from the south towards the north
(Fig. 5). The upper aquiferous zone can be dierentiated
from the underlying zone as it shows a higher apparent
resistivity values. This zone (upper) has formation resistivities in the range 4802400 Xm (mean 1500 Xm) and
comprises mainly of gravels and medium- to coarsegrained sands, hence referred to as the gravely zone.
These materials are occasionally intercalated with ne
grained sands, silts and clays (Fig. 3). The hydraulic conductivity, K and transmissivity, T varies from 110.5 to
214.7 m d1 (mean 143.2 m d1 ) and from 2715.8 to 14400
m2 d1 (mean 7676.6 m2 d1 ), respectively. The mean SC is
344.4 m3 d1 m1 and I based on Walton (1962) and
Singhal (1973) are 5.75 and 4.45 m3 d1 m1 m2 , respectively. The mean CAC and CAV values for the upper zone
are 300 and 18.6 m3 d1 m1 , respectively (Table 6).
5.2. The lower sandy zone
The lower zone extends from depths of about 30 m in
the south to more than 100 m in the north with respect

to the ground surface. This is responsible for the exploitation of this zone through deep wells/boreholes
especially in north central and the northern parts of the
entire study area. The depth to water level is greater
than 50 m (mean 62.2 m), Table 6. The layer resistivity
varies from 50 to 1700 Xm (mean 320 Xm). The materials of this layer consist of ne- to medium-grained
sands and is referred to as the sandy zone. This sandy
zone is occasionally intercalated with gravels, coarse
sands, silts, clay, lignite (Fig. 3). The zones K and T
values vary between 61.273.2 m d1 (mean 87.4 m d1 )
and 12002928 m2 d1 (mean 1956.3 m2 d1 ), respectively. The mean SC, I, CAC and CAV are 40, 0.54/0.38,
39.8 and 5.2 m3 d1 m1 , respectively (Table 6).

6. Regional trend and comparison

For a wider general acceptability of this study, the
geo-electrical and borehole data from nearby localities
outside the study area but in a similar geologic setting
were also considered (Fig. 1, Table 2). The additional
data are displayed in Fig. 3 and Table 7. The data show

440

A.E. Edet, C.S. Okereke / Journal of African Earth Sciences 35 (2002) 433443

Fig. 5. VES derived depths to bottom of upper zone and top of lower
zone.

that for the adjoining areas the upper and lower zones
are of similar characteristics as in the study area. The
upper zone varies in thickness between a low of 24 m at
Upenekang (AK 1) to 88 m at Ikot Edem Odo (CR 1)
with formation resistivities in the range 10003500 Xm
(mean 2100 Xm). The upper zone is made up of gravels
and medium to coarse grained sands with occasional
intercalations of ne grained sands, silts and clays (Fig.
3). The mean value of K and T for the upper/lower zones
at Upenekang (AK 1) and Enwang (AK 2) are 170/90
and 10,500/2400 m2 d1 , respectively. These values are in
good agreement with those of the study area. Again as in
the study area, the upper zone is more resistive than the

Fig. 6. Relation between formation resistivity, specic capacity and

transmissivity.

lower zone; the latter having resistivities of 210500 Xm

(mean 370 Xm), Fig. 3 and Table 7, corresponding to
ne- to medium-grained sands with silt and clay intercalations in places.
Generally, the intercalations as observed in the zones
as described above are responsible for the high variation
in formation resistivity and transmissivity values with
standard deviations of 469.04 Xm and 5094.43 m2 d1
and 186.87 Xm and 686.24 m2 d1 for the gravelly and
sandy zones respectively in the study area (Table 6) and
the nearby localities.

Table 7
Result of geo-electric data outside the study area
S/N

Location no.

Layer resistivity (Xm)

1 Top

2 Upper

3 Lower

1 Top

2 Upper

1
2
3
4
5
6

AK 1
AK 2
CR 1
CR 2
CR 3
CR 4

1200.00
850.00
400.00
600.00
550.00
750.00

3500.00
1700.00
1700.00
3000.00
1700.00
1000.00

400.00
450.00
500.00
210.00
260.00
400.00

2.00
2.00
3.00
5.00
3.00
3.00

24.00
29.00
88.00
45.00
32.00
47.00

1200.00
400.00
730.00

3500.00
1000.00
2100.00

500.00
210.00
370.00

5.00
2.00
3.00

88.00
24.00
44.00

Maximum
Minimum
Mean

Layer thickness (m)

A.E. Edet, C.S. Okereke / Journal of African Earth Sciences 35 (2002) 433443

441

Table 8
Correlation matrix
SWL

TDS

FR

SC

I (Walton)

I (Sinhal)

CAC

TDS

r
p

)0.260
0.440

FR

r
p

)0.382
0.246

)0.623
0.033

SC

r
p

)0.493
0.123

)0.009
0.979

0.761
0.007

I (Walton)

r
p

)0.635
0.036

0.282
0.401

0.533
0.091

0.909
<0.0001

I (Sinhal)

r
p

)0.648
0.031

0.310
0.354

0.589
0.057

0.916
<0.0001

0.970
0.000

r
p

)0.484
0.131

)0.209
0.537

0.747
0.008

0.891
<0.0001

0.718
0.013

0.715
0.013

r
p

)0.653
0.029

0.000
1.000

0.834
0.001

0.891
<0.0001

0.800
0.003

0.834
0.001

0.845
0.001

CAC

r
p

)0.484
0.131

0.073
0.832

0.633
0.036

0.973
<0.0001

0.945
0.000

0.943
<0.0001

0.809
0.003

0.834
0.001

CAV

r
p

)0.612
0.045

0.173
0.612

0.214
0.527

0.691
0.019

0.773
0.005

0.724
0.012

0.591
0.056

0.891
<0.0001

0.773
0.005

The primary and secondary recharge sources of the

upper zone are through precipitation and surface water
bodies. The groundwater in this zone is exploited mainly
through shallow hand dug wells and boreholes tted
with hand pumps. The FR, SC, I, CAC and CAV are
higher for the upper zone compared to the lower zone.
In contrast, the surrounding surface water bodies are the
major recharge path to the lower zone while leakage
from the upper zone serve as secondary recharge. The
lower zone is exploited by means of deep wells and
boreholes tted with electric pumps and overhead storage tanks. For both zones, however, estimates of SC and
T can be obtained approximately from FR using the
relationship (Fig. 6).

7. Aquifer rating and vulnerability

FR 0:002 971:3 log T

where r is the rating for FR, SC, T and TDS (Table 9).
Using an overall rating scale of R < 6 (poor, P);
6 < R < 9 (slightly poor, SP); 9 < R < 12 (moderate,
M); 12 < R < 15 (slightly good, SG) and R > 15 (very
good, VG). The evaluation of dierent borehole points
are presented in Table 10, which shows that the upper
and lower zones can be described as very good (VG) and
slighty good (SG), respectively.

r 0:747; p 0:008
1

FR 46:9 573:3 log SC

r 0:761; p 0:007
2

where FR, SC and T represent the formation resistivity,

transmissivity and specic capacity.

7.1. Rating
Formation resistivity and some hydrogeological parameters were correlated to assess their potential relationships. The results in Table 8 show signicant correlation
between FR and SC (r 0:761, p 0:007), T (r 0:747,
p 0:008) and TDS (r 0:632, p 0:033). These four
parameters were then used to rate the zones using Table 9.
Using borehole data for each location (Table 4), the zones
were rated as follows
R FRr SCr Tr TDSr

Table 9
Parameter rating
Parameter

Symbol

Rating

Formation resistivity,
FR (Xm)

Specic capacity, SC
(m3 d1 m1 )

Transmissvity, T
(m2 d1 )

Total dissolved solids,

TDS (mg l1 )

Poor
Slightly poor
Moderate
Slightly good
Very good

P
SP
M
SG
VG

1
2
3
4
5

>2500
25002000
20001500
15001000
<1000

<50
50100
100150
150300
>300

<500
5001500
15002500
25005000
>5000

>500
500250
250150
150100
<100

442

A.E. Edet, C.S. Okereke / Journal of African Earth Sciences 35 (2002) 433443

Table 10
Rating of the zones at dierent borehole locations

Acknowledgements

S/No

Location no

Aquifer type

Total rating

Remarksa

1
2
3
4
5
6

CA 3
CA17
CA 37
CA 42
CA 47
CA 48

Upper

16
15
14
16
18
18

VG
SG
SG
VG
VG
VG

7
8
9
10
11

CA
CA
CA
CA
CA

Lower

14
13
13
14
13

SG
SG
SG
SG
SG

55
57
64
67
69

The authors are grateful to various water agencies for

access to some of their records. However, the views
expressed in this paper are solely those of the authors.
Dr. R. Bates is thanked for critically reviewing this article. Financial support and eld equipment from Alexander Humboldt Foundation (AvH), Bonn and the
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Bonn to
AEE is acknowledged.
References

See Table 9.

Table 11
Vulnerability matrix
Hydrauclic conductivity of aquifer material

Symbol

Depth to water level (m)

<25

2550

>50

High
Moderate
Low

H
M
L

High
High
Moderate

High
Moderate
Low

Low
Low
Low

7.2. Vulnerability to surface contamination

A matrix system (Table 11) applied to the aquifers
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to moderate hydraulic conductivity (>100 m d1 ) and
shallow depth to groundwater level (<50 m) is highly
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m d1 ) and greater depths to groundwater level (>50 m)
is less vulnerable (L) to surface contaminants.

8. Conclusions
The results of the surface resistivity studies and
drilling have enabled the delineation of two water
bearing zones within the Coastal Plain Sand aquifer in
Calabar and environs. These are the gravelly/coarse to
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of specic capacity, transmissivity and total dissolved
solids. In addition, the specic capacity and transmissivity can be estimated using formation resistivity values.
The upper gravelly aquifer is highly vulnerable to
surface contamination in comparison to the lower sandy
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