Abstract
This paper employs the electromagnetic (EM) and the electrical resistivity methods for siting boreholes for communities in the Sunyani-West district of Ghana, a terrane comprising a mixture of granites and low-grade metavolcanic and metasedimentary rocks. These communities which depend on groundwater for livelihood have over the past few decades been hit by drastic seasonal irregularities in rainfall, making it imperative to seek an alternative source of potable water (preferably groundwater). Measurements to locate sites for boreholes were made by employing the Geonics EM-34 conductivity meter. In addition, co-located measurements were made with the ABEM SAS 1000C Terrameter in the Schlumberger electrode array configuration. Results of the measurements showed that each community could have at least two borehole sites with a high potential for groundwater extraction. The overburden of selected sites varied for the communities and ranged from 40 to 67 m. However, recommended drilling depths at these sites were 60 m for Adwinsa community, 70 m for Akurakan community and 60 m for Nana Ameyaw community. Test boreholes sunk at respective depths of 45 m, 55 m and 68 m in Adwinsa, Nana Ameyaw and Akurakan had yields of 12 m 3 /h (200 l/min), 24 m 3 /h (400 l/min) and 1.14 m 3 /h (19 l/min) respectively. In all three communities the aquifer was intercepted in phyllite bedrocks. Keywords: aquifer, groundwater potential, borehole, electrical resistivity, vertical electrical sounding, conductivity DOI: 10.7176/JEES/10-10-05 Publication date: October 31 st 2020
Highlights
The problems associated with accessibility of quality drinking water is a global issue (Watkins, 2006; Srinivasan et al, 2012)
From the graphs peaks of the vertical dipole (VD) overriding that of the horizontal dipole (HD) were carefully selected for a validatory survey for the occurrence of groundwater using Vertical electrical sounding (VES) method (McNeill, 1980)
The section discusses the results of the ground electromagnetic survey from a few communities. 4.1.1 Results of Soil conductivity survey from the Adwinsa community The apparent conductivity of the subsurface was between 2 and mS/m in the horizontal coplanar mode (HD mode) and 2 and mS/m in the VD mode (Fig. 3)
Summary
The problems associated with accessibility of quality drinking water is a global issue (Watkins, 2006; Srinivasan et al, 2012). It is not a surprise that the United Nations has declared the right to access of safe drinking water as a fundamental human right (Dinka, 2018). According to Jury and Vaux (2007), water crisis inhibits development and affects human’s quality of standard of living. It results in poor health, especially, for the poor and vulnerable (Ugya et al, 2018), low educational standard and poor agricultural production. A number of Ghanaian communities continue to depend on unsafe water sources such as ponds, rivers and lakes
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