Abstract
This study was carried out to determine the direction of flow of groundwater and overland flow at Ndele, Emuoha local Government area of Rivers state, Nigeria. The Global Positioning System (GPS) was used to determine the longitude, latitude and the elevation above mean sea level at ten (10) locations spread across the study area. Water level meter was also used to measure the depths to water table which was used to calculate the hydraulic head in each of the ten (10) hand dug wells analyzed. Surface elevation and hydraulic head contour maps were then generated using surfer 8 computer software. The surface elevation and hydraulic head contour maps developed revealed that the overland flow and groundwater flow are towards the same direction; South to South-Western parts of the region. This makes the watershed area more vulnerable compared to other locations in the study area. More efforts should be made towards establishing eco-friendly practices in the North, North-Western and North-Eastern parts of the community to minimize groundwater contamination. It is recommended that boreholes be sited in the North, North-Western and North-Eastern parts of the community to avoid contamination of potable water sources. Moreso, an appropriate geophysical survey must be carried out before any borehole is drilled in the area.
Highlights
Water is a resource vital to all life on earth [1]
Given that water always flows from a region of higher head to a region of lower head [6], it is found that groundwater use within an area at a higher water level directly affects the quality of water available to people living in regions of lower water levels
This is attributed to the uneven elevation encountered at different points in the study area which results in a downward sloping towards the watershed area (Table 2)
Summary
Water is a resource vital to all life on earth [1]. It is a natural resource that occurs either as freshwater or saline water and the quality can be altered by anthropogenic activities. Groundwater moves along a flow path perpendicular to equipotential lines and the direction of movement is from lines of higher value to lines of lower value (i.e., higher to lower elevation or pressure). Groundwater flow paths are usually shown by arrows on equipotential surface plots pointing in the direction of groundwater flow. [4,5] It is necessary to know the direction of groundwater flow to determine the recharge zones and make sure that human activities in the area do not pose threat to the quality of the groundwater to enable a sustainable use of the resources. Given that water always flows from a region of higher head to a region of lower head [6], it is found that groundwater use within an area at a higher water level directly affects the quality of water available to people living in regions of lower water levels
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