Authors :
Shaibu Abdul-Ganiyu; Kpiebaya Prosper
Volume/Issue :
Volume 5 - 2020, Issue 6 - June
Google Scholar :
http://bitly.ws/9nMw
Scribd :
https://bit.ly/2W3w75X
DOI :
10.38124/IJISRT20JUN811
Abstract :
Groundwater use has increased substantially
for both domestic and agricultural purposes in the
growing communities of Ghana. The way climate
change has treated agriculture in some parts of Africa;
it can possibly sabotage food security if policies on
groundwater irrigation are not adopted. Geology of the
Birimian is known for its high-moderate groundwater
potential. This kind of formation occurs in the Northwestern corner, the middle portion and some parts in
southern Ghana. Previous study has suggested that
there are more than 779 functional boreholes that exist
within the study area. The groundwater potential within
the study area was studied using typical hydrogeological
factors such as; groundwater resistivity, overburden
thickness, borehole success rate and groundwater
pumping rate. Resistivity values between 38.480 ohm.m
– 103.740 ohm.m showed areas of fresh to brackish
groundwater resource having a saturated thickness
ranging from 13.79 m to 16.27 m. Information
regarding borehole depth indicates that places of high
SWL (20.60 m) probably has shallow depth and places
of low SWL (18.75 m) are likely to have deeper depth.
Generally, areas within Tegberi and Tumu are known
for its high success rate. The storage capacity and the
extractble storage were estimated to be approximately
134.9 x 10³ km³ and 53.23 x 10³ km³ respectively for the
aquifer basement complex of the 35 boreholes. The
research targeted areas of high groundwater success
rate so as to minimise the gap in the computation that
may be affected as a result of the dry boreholes. The
pumping rate showed that large quantity of
groundwater was discharged from the boreholes; hence
the exploration of groundwater as an alternative water
supply for irrigation and agricultural production within
the Upper West Region might be feasible.
Keywords :
Birimian, VES, Groundwater, Hydrogeology, SWL and Pumping.
Groundwater use has increased substantially
for both domestic and agricultural purposes in the
growing communities of Ghana. The way climate
change has treated agriculture in some parts of Africa;
it can possibly sabotage food security if policies on
groundwater irrigation are not adopted. Geology of the
Birimian is known for its high-moderate groundwater
potential. This kind of formation occurs in the Northwestern corner, the middle portion and some parts in
southern Ghana. Previous study has suggested that
there are more than 779 functional boreholes that exist
within the study area. The groundwater potential within
the study area was studied using typical hydrogeological
factors such as; groundwater resistivity, overburden
thickness, borehole success rate and groundwater
pumping rate. Resistivity values between 38.480 ohm.m
– 103.740 ohm.m showed areas of fresh to brackish
groundwater resource having a saturated thickness
ranging from 13.79 m to 16.27 m. Information
regarding borehole depth indicates that places of high
SWL (20.60 m) probably has shallow depth and places
of low SWL (18.75 m) are likely to have deeper depth.
Generally, areas within Tegberi and Tumu are known
for its high success rate. The storage capacity and the
extractble storage were estimated to be approximately
134.9 x 10³ km³ and 53.23 x 10³ km³ respectively for the
aquifer basement complex of the 35 boreholes. The
research targeted areas of high groundwater success
rate so as to minimise the gap in the computation that
may be affected as a result of the dry boreholes. The
pumping rate showed that large quantity of
groundwater was discharged from the boreholes; hence
the exploration of groundwater as an alternative water
supply for irrigation and agricultural production within
the Upper West Region might be feasible.
Keywords :
Birimian, VES, Groundwater, Hydrogeology, SWL and Pumping.
