Anthropogenic Activities-Implications for Ground Water Resource in Okrika, Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

This work is an attempt to establish aquifer distribution in the indicated area as an aid to locating possible and suitable sites to drill boreholes for safe, portable and sustainable water supply for the ever-growing population and industries in the area, and the vulnerability of this body of water to pollutants as a result of human and industrial activities in the area. Data collected from vertical electrical sounding were used to interpret, both laterally and vertically, varying successions of high and low resistive geoelectric layers throughout the area of study to establish the depth, thickness and lateral extent of an aquifer, and also to determine the layering of the study area down to the depth of interest; thus, to delineate the aquifer distribution of the area. To ensure the safety status of groundwater of the area, a chemical analysis of three pollutants (heavy metals) of interest {Lead (Pb), Copper (Cu), and Nickel (Ni)} was carried out on sixty soil samples collected randomly from ten locations at various depths from the ground surface to a depth of 25m to determine their total concentration in the soil at ground level and their degree of leaching towards the groundwater of the area. The energy Dispersive XRay Fluorescence (EDXRF) technique was used to analyze and determine the total concentration of the pollutants in the soil samples. The results show that there is good aquifer distribution laterally across the study area with aquifer thickness of between 50m to 60m. The groundwater resource of the area is less vulnerable to pollutants because of the presence of a thin layer of organic matter and clay deposits that adsorb the pollutants of interest and minimize the leaching of the pollutants towards the saturated zone.