ASSESSMENT OF AQUIFER POTENTIAL OF THE VEA CATCHMENT IN GHANA USING PUMPING TEST TECHNIQUE

Collins Okrah (), Emmanuel K. Appiah-Adjei and William A. Agyekum
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Collins Okrah: Geological Engineering Department, College of Engineering, KNUST, Kumasi-Ghana
Emmanuel K. Appiah-Adjei: Geological Engineering Department, College of Engineering, KNUST, Kumasi-Ghana
William A. Agyekum: CSIR-Water Research Institute, P. O. Box M32, Accra-Ghana

Pakistan Journal of Geology (PJG), 2022, vol. 6, issue 2, 53-59

Abstract: Groundwater is an important source of drinking water for many people in sub-Saharan Africa due to its generally suitable quality. The Vea catchment of north-east Ghana is well known for its high reliance on groundwater for domestic use. The major livelihood of the indigenes is agriculture, which is severely affected by the seasonal long dry spell during harmattan. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to compute the aquifer characteristics to aid assessment of the storage potential for other uses such as irrigation in the catchment using the pumping test method. Pumping and recovery test data on 77 boreholes are used to determine the aquifer properties. The results indicated that transmissivity (T) and specific capacity (Sc) were within the ranges of 0.42–60.8 m2/d and 2–70 m3/d/m, respectively. The T and Sc are linearly related with a coefficient of determination, R2, of 0.85. The area has a specific yield of about 0.06% and a storage coefficient in the order of 10-7–10-3. The shallow aquifer system (below 50 m deep) and the fractured aquifer system have mean safe yields of 138 m3/d and 345 m3/d, respectively. Thus, the groundwater potential can support other uses such as small-scale irrigation apart from drinking. The results of the study could be used as a guide for managing groundwater resources in arid and semi-arid areas. Through careful planning of groundwater withdrawals for irrigation and other uses for the socioeconomic development of the people, this will help improve water security resilience in the catchment.

Keywords: Aquifer potential; Pumping test; Vea Catchment; Ghana (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zib:zbnpjg:v:6:y:2022:i:2:p:53-59

DOI: 10.26480/pjg.02.2022.53.59

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