Groundwater Recharge Through Infiltration Process: A Case Study of Umudike, Southeastern Nigeria
- 1
- 2
Abstract
Although water is a renewable resource for sustaining life and environment, excessive pumping of groundwater results in the ground water table being depleted. The major natural source of groundwater recharge is rainfall. In Umudike just like many other areas, the rate of natural recharge is lower than pumping rate. This is due to increasing economic and agricultural activities and also urbanization. Over exploitation of groundwater is a threat to the water quality and table and creates hydrological imbalance. This imbalance includes degradation in hydrological and hydro-chemical characteristics of the aquifer. Artificial recharge of water table aquifers becomes necessary to improve the hydrodynamic conditions of groundwater. A drop in piezometric level can be remedied by artificial recharge of groundwater through infiltration process using water from dams, lakes, rivers, runoff and sewage effluent. Results of water table survey conducted at Umudike show that it peaks at 85m (above sea level) before recharge and 95m after recharge. The recharge of groundwater is basically through rainfall and river water.
- G. Demarsily, “Importance of the Maintenance of Temporary Ponds in Arid Climates for the Recharge of Gro- undwater,” Comptes Rendus Geosciences, Vol. 335, No. 13, 2003, pp. 933-934. doi:10.1016/j.crte.2003.10.001
- Fedrigoni., “Origin de la Mineralization et Comportment Hydrogèochimique d’ une Nappe Phrèatigue Soumise à des Contraintes Naturelles et Anthropigues Sevèré: Example de la Nappe de Djebenia (Tunisie),” Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 332, 2001, pp. 665-671.
- P. N?jd, et al., “Artificial Recharge of Groundwater through Sprinkling Infiltration: Impacts on Forest Soil and the Nutrients Status and Growth of Scots Pine,” Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 407, No. 10, 2009, pp. 3365-3371. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.01.062
- Ministère de L’ Agriculture, “Rapport sur l’ etat des Nappes Phrèatigues et Profondes de la Tunisie,” Ministère de l’ Agriculture, Tunis, 1996.
- T. Asono and J. A. Cotruvo, “Groundwater Recharge with Reclaimed Municipal Waste Water: Health and Regulatory Consideration,” Water Research, Vol. 38, No. 8, 2004, pp. 1941-1951. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2004.01.023
- H. Bouwer and R. D. G. Pyne, “Artificial Recharge of Groundwater,” National Groundwater Association, Baltimore, 2005.
- S. Grünheid, et al., “Removal of Bulk Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) and Trace Organic Compounds by Bank Filtration and Artificial Recharge,” Water Research, Vol. 39, No. 14, 2005, pp. 3219-3228. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2005.05.030
- M. Detay and J. C. Bersillion, “La Realimentation Artificielle de Nappes Profondes. Faisabilite et Consequences,” La Houille Branched, Vol. 366, 1996, pp. 57-61. doi:10.1051/lhb/1996040
- M. U. Igboekwe, E. E. Okwueze and C. E. Okereke, “Delineantion of Potential Aquifer Zones from Geoelectric Soundings in Kwa Ibo River Watershed, South Eastern Nigeria,” Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Vol. 1, No. 4, 2006, pp. 410-421.
- M. Radhey, “Artificial Recharging of Groundwater from Rain and Surplus Canal Water along Harsauli Drain, District,” Proceeding of ISWRPM 2003, Muzaffarnagar, 11-12 October 2003.
- Ebilah-Salmon and Partners, “Investigation of the Existing Water Supply Facilities within the University Complex,” Geophysical Report and Recommendations for Reactivation and Future Exploitation for Potable Water Supply, Federal University of Agriculture, Umudike, 1994, pp. 25.
- M. U. Igboekwe, et al., “Groundwater Flow Modeling of Kwa Ibo River Watershed, Southeastern Nigeria,” Hydrological Processes, Vol. 22, No. 10, 2008, pp. 1523- 1531. doi:10.1002/hyp.6530