HYDROGEOLOGY

Lecture 1

Professor O. A. Agbede
Importance of Water

Water ranks second only to air we breathe

History of man and civilization could be
said to be written in water.
Our bodies are two-thirds water
No healthy person has been known to
survive without water for more than about
ten days
 Water Usage
Drinking
Cooking
Bathing and washing
Irrigation
Manufacturing
Navigation; and
Recreation
 Table 1: Water On Earth
Surface Water - 0.0171%
- Fresh-water Lakes (0.009%)
- Saline Lakes and inland seas (0.008%)
- Average in stream channels (0.0001%)
Subsurface Water – 0.625%
- Water in unsaturated aerated zone (0.005%)
- Groundwater within depth of 0.8 km (0.31%)
- Groundwater, deep lying (0.31%)
Other Water Locations – 99.351%
- Icecaps and glaciers (2.15%)
- Atmosphere (at sea level) (0.001%)
- World Ocean (97.20%)
 Sources of Water
The Water Resources of the world
fall under two categories:
Surface and
Subsurface or
Groundwater Resources.
 Sunn
unun
n
Condensation

Precipitation
Infiltration
Snow Evapotranspiration
Evaporation

Evaporation
Water -table

Stream
Ground water flow
Ocean
Aquifer storage

Fig. 1: The Hydrological Cycle

 Surface Water
Surface water is contained in
Rivers,
Lakes,
Springs,
Streams and
Seas and Oceans.
 Groundwater
It is derived from precipitation
It is stored in the pore spaces of
sediments and weathered zones, in
voids created by chemical solution
and openings created by tectonic
activities such as joints, faults and
fractured zones.
 It is abstracted through
hand dug wells, hand
pump operated shallow
wells and submersible
pump operated deep
wells or boreholes
It can be developed and
distributed at much
reduced cost than surface
water through dams.
It can take place close
to the point of need
 Groundwater
An important component of water
resource systems.
Extracted from aquifers through pumping
wells and supplied for domestic use,
industry and agriculture.
With increased withdrawal of
groundwater, the quality of groundwater has
been continuously deteriorating.
Water can be injected into aquifers for
storage and/or quality control purposes.
 Water Resources Management in Nigeria

Well drained
with a close
network of
rivers and
streams.
Unevenly
distributed over
the country.
Geological Map of Nigeria (Nwajide, 2005).
Nigeria’s Groundwater Potential
This is estimated at 106 x 109 3
m,
distributed thus:
Northern zone - 17%
Central zone - 43%
Southern zone - 40%
Groundwater Provinces in Nigeria.
1. Coastal Alluvium
2. River valley Alluvium
3. Dahomey Basin
4. Kerri-Kerri Formation
5. Chad Basin
6. Sokoto Basin
7. Middle Niger Basin
8. Anambra Basin
9. Cross river Basin
10. Benue Basin
River Basin Development Authorities
in Nigeria
1. The Sokoto-Rima RBDA
2. The Hadejia-Jamaare RBDA
3. The Chad RBDA
4. The Upper Benue RBDA
5. The Lower Benue RBDA
6. The Cross RBDA
7. The Anambra – Imo RBDA
8. The Niger RBDA
9. The Ogun-Oshun RBDA and
10.The Benin-Owena RBDA.
 Groundwater Management
This means making such
decisions as:
The total volume that may be
withdrawn annually from the aquifer.
The location of pumping and
artificial recharge wells, and
their rates.
 The quality of groundwater
 Groundwater Management …
Groundwater can be contaminated
by:
- Hazardous industrial wastes
- Leachate from landfills
- Agricultural activities such as
the use of fertilizers and
pesticides
 Groundwater Management…
No Management Option:
No control on the total abstraction
(Mining Yield Concept)
A Management Option:
Involving limitation of pumping
(Safe Yield Concept )
 Optimum Exploitation
How long could one pump
water at a given rate from an
aquifer or a basin?
The answer is a function of a
number of factors, including the
amount of water in storage,
available recharge, and costs.
 ASSIGNMENTS
Write explicitly on the following:
1. Physical Properties of Aquifers
2. Determination of Hydraulic
Conductivity, Transmissivity, Specific
Yield and Storage Coefficient
3. Groundwater Exploration and
Exploitation
4. Groundwater Contamination and
Remediation