Application of Electrical Resistivity Method for Groundwater Investigation at Alhudahuda College Zaria, Kaduna State

Abstract

A geophysical investigation was carried out with the aim of determining favorable

site for erecting a yield borehole, which will serve as a source of water supply in

Alhudahuda College, Zaria, Nigeria. In order to study the groundwater potential

the area. Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) using Schlumberger array was carried

out at ten (10) stations. The field data obtained has been analyzed using Computer

Software (ipi2win), which gives an automatic interpretation of apparent resistivity.

The VES result revealed the heterogeneous nature of the subsurface geologic

sequence. The geologic sequence beneath the study area is composed of topsoil

(sandy-clay and sandy-lateritic), weathered basement, fracture basement layer and

fresh basement. The result aim is to determine a favorable site for erecting a yield

borehole, which will serve as a source of water supply in Alhudahuda College, Zaria.

The result of the investigation revealed the various resistivities of the top soil,

weathered basement, fracture basement and fresh basement were found to be 19.8

Ωm to 782 Ωm, 11.4 Ωm to 949 Ωm, 10.4 Ωm to 529 Ωm and 710 Ωm to 949 Ωm

with thickness values of 1.11 m to 2.02 m, 0.92 m to 6.66 m, 3.33 m to 16.50 m and

6.01 m to infinite depth. The depth of the weathered and fractured basement was

found to be from 2.07 m to8.68 m and 6.01 m to 24.50 m, respectively