Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Gushing Water Aquifers in the Coastal Sedimentary Basin of Benin (West Africa)

Abstract

The coastal sedimentary basin in southern Benin consists of monoclinal layers divided into two plateau zones (North and South) which are separated by a longitudinal depression ESE-WNW. The valleys of the main N-S-oriented rivers (Ouémé, Couffo and Mono) set the bondaries of the different plateau of the BSC (Coastal Sedimentary Basin). The present study, based on geology, hydrochemistry, temperature and log data available on boreholes, makes a physico-chemical characterization of the waters of the gushing aquifers of the coastal sedimentary basin of Benin. The gushing water boreholes are shared between the valleys of the main rivers of the BSC. Some of these boreholes are thermal with a water temperature between 38 and 69 degrees Celsius. The hydrogeological correlations established in the BSC in accordance to the North- South direction in the valleys of the main streams (Couffo and Ouémé) reveal that the captured aquifers are sands, marls and limestones that respond either in major discordance (northern zone) or above the sedimentation gaps (southern zone). Chemical analyses have shown that gushing thermal waters are mineralized in the south with a neutral to basic pH and are highly concentrated with bicarbonate, calcium and magnesium ions. In the North, on the other hand, thermal waters are acidic with a pH ranging from 4.8 to 5.9. The acidic nature of the northern waters is influenced by the crystalline base while the southern neutral to basic waters are influenced by the lithological nature (limestone and marl) of the aquifer. The random distribution of thermal water boreholes in the valleys of the main BSC streams is believed to be related to tectonic events.