Exploration of quality groundwater through lineament delineation in Okene and its surroudings

Abstract

This research addresses the issue of unproductive boreholes in the study area and the limited information on productive aquifers. The challenging geological terrain and dense urbanization necessitate the use of integrated airborne data, namely Landsat remote sensing, geographic information systems, and aeromagnetic data, to map potential groundwater zones in Okene and its surrounding areas. The analysis utilizes remote sensing and geospatial datasets, which are slope, drainage density, and lineament density, along with aeromagnetic data interpretation. Techniques employed are first and second-order derivatives, tilt derivative, and total horizontal derivative to identify groundwater productive zones. Observations of remotely sensed lineaments indicate intersections with aeromagnetic composite lineaments, suggesting the presence of shallow and deeper lineaments in proximity. These intersection points are identified as potential zones for groundwater accumulation and development due to their characteristics of secondary porosity and high permeability. The depth to the aquiferous zone, as determined by 3-D Euler deconvolution and spectral analysis, ranges from 60 to 150 m, which is proposed as the depth for borehole drilling in the study area. The central and southeastern regions of the study area exhibit higher groundwater potential because of the high density of lineament intersection and are recommended for future groundwater development. This study illustrates the effectiveness of geospatial and aerogeophysical techniques in regional groundwater exploration to provide insights into subsurface structural disposition for locating aquiferous zones and improving groundwater management.