Appraisal of Groundwater Potential Zones and Quality in the Sedimentary Formation of Southwestern Nigeria Utilizing Geophysical and Hydrochemical Methods

Appraisal of Groundwater Potential Zones and Quality in the Sedimentary Formation of Southwestern Nigeria Utilizing Geophysical and Hydrochemical Methods | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Appraisal of Groundwater Potential Zones and Quality in the Sedimentary Formation of Southwestern Nigeria Utilizing Geophysical and Hydrochemical Methods Obafemi, O. Ademolu, Saheed, A. Ganiyu, Oluwaseun, T. Olurin, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7820159/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract An integrated method including hydro-chemical and geophysical techniques was utilized to assess the potential availability and quality of groundwater in Apaken, a suburb of Sagamu in southwest Nigeria. A combination of natural electric field and electrical resistivity methods were used to define the underlying lithology, which may include groundwater. Twelve vertical electrical sounding (VES) locations and six profiles were surveyed using the Terameter and PQWT equipment, respectively. To ascertain the groundwater quality index (GWQI), laboratory tests of samples from nearby wells were also conducted. A maximum of five geo-electric subsurface layers were identified by the VES data. Profile map L2 showed a sharp shift in the stratigraphic view of the rock formation from a soft to a very hard formation. Groundwater exploration had a very high yield potential for sounding points (VES 6, VES 7, and VES 10) towards the due to a reflection coefficient (RC) of less than 0.8 and an overburden thickness (OT) of more than 13 meters in the southern portion of the research region. In the meanwhile, the yield zones for medium groundwater potential (VES 1 and 9) towards the north and southeast respectively had OT > 13 m and RC > 0.8 while low-and very low yield groundwater potential zones (VES 2-5, VES 8, VES 12), which were located predominantly at the research area's northern section were of OT 0.8 and RC < 0.8 respectively. Nonetheless, the aquifer protection capacity metrics suggested that roughly 92% of all VES points are rated as "poor," while the remaining 8% reflected weak aquifer protective capacity. According to Piper trilinear analysis, the bulk of groundwater samples are of fresh water status and CaHCO3 type. The GWQI readings were below 100, which suggests that the groundwater is suitable for residential use and places the examined water samples in the "excellent" and "good" quality categories. Effective information for evaluating the region's groundwater potential and quality has been obtained through the effective application of a combination of hydro-chemical and geophysical approaches. Sedimentary terrain Groundwater-bearing zones Stratigraphy view Ferruginous Schlumberger electrode array Wenner array Piper Trilinear Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7820159","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":542447085,"identity":"eb043354-8094-4305-8ecd-15a705417982","order_by":0,"name":"Obafemi, O. Ademolu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA7ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFCCBAZmBgYJOfsDhw8AeRIyxGqxMGY4eCwBpIWHWC0ViQ2HzxiAuIS18LcnH3xcUCOR2Nh25vOrGzUWPAzsh49uwKdF4syzZOMZxySMm3nObrPOOQZ0GE9a2g281tzIMZPmYZOQbZM4u804hw2oRYLHDK8W+Rv536R5/kkw9si/eWac848ILQY3ctikedskFGcwnGF+nNtGhBbDM8+MjWf2SRgbMBwzY87tk+BhI+QXuePJDx8XfKuTM2A4/PhzDpDBz374GH7vIwE2CTBJrHIQYP5AiupRMApGwSgYOQAAEsFJrWhMcGYAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Federal University of Agriculture","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"O.","middleName":"Ademolu","lastName":"Obafemi","suffix":""},{"id":542447086,"identity":"8665709a-0ca6-40c8-b3cc-fbd65088adfd","order_by":1,"name":"Saheed, A. Ganiyu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Federal University of Agriculture","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"A.","middleName":"Ganiyu","lastName":"Saheed","suffix":""},{"id":542447087,"identity":"7dd0d734-4e86-4f7b-88da-23512523cb33","order_by":2,"name":"Oluwaseun, T. Olurin","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Federal University of Agriculture","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"T.","middleName":"Olurin","lastName":"Oluwaseun","suffix":""},{"id":542447088,"identity":"ace7dbc2-21a4-4924-a60d-8a9ffab07b5a","order_by":3,"name":"Kehinde, D. Ajayi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Federal University of Agriculture","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"D.","middleName":"Ajayi","lastName":"Kehinde","suffix":""},{"id":542447089,"identity":"b87ec7bf-c19b-4dab-a2f4-63dec622487f","order_by":4,"name":"Adedeji, A. Adetoyinbo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Ibadan","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"A.","middleName":"Adetoyinbo","lastName":"Adedeji","suffix":""},{"id":542447090,"identity":"33bbb41a-ce51-404e-840c-e3575b059f4a","order_by":5,"name":"Aderemi, A. Alabi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Federal University of Agriculture","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"A.","middleName":"Alabi","lastName":"Aderemi","suffix":""},{"id":542447091,"identity":"96403d61-c261-49bb-850a-d0e568050084","order_by":6,"name":"Adedayo, A Badejo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Federal University of Agriculture","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"A","middleName":"Badejo","lastName":"Adedayo","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-10-09 17:53:15","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7820159/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7820159/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107140940,"identity":"241aa98c-d108-408d-8546-a91ffab45f79","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-17 08:59:11","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1464999,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"AdemoluJournal2New1.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7820159/v1_covered_eb2d201a-1696-4b8c-a423-e8989aa2a088.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Appraisal of Groundwater Potential Zones and Quality in the Sedimentary Formation of Southwestern Nigeria Utilizing Geophysical and Hydrochemical Methods","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Sedimentary terrain, Groundwater-bearing zones, Stratigraphy view, Ferruginous, Schlumberger electrode array, Wenner array, Piper Trilinear","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7820159/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7820159/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"An integrated method including hydro-chemical and geophysical techniques was utilized to assess the potential availability and quality of groundwater in Apaken, a suburb of Sagamu in southwest Nigeria. A combination of natural electric field and electrical resistivity methods were used to define the underlying lithology, which may include groundwater. Twelve vertical electrical sounding (VES) locations and six profiles were surveyed using the Terameter and PQWT equipment, respectively. To ascertain the groundwater quality index (GWQI), laboratory tests of samples from nearby wells were also conducted. A maximum of five geo-electric subsurface layers were identified by the VES data. Profile map L2 showed a sharp shift in the stratigraphic view of the rock formation from a soft to a very hard formation. Groundwater exploration had a very high yield potential for sounding points (VES 6, VES 7, and VES 10) towards the due to a reflection coefficient (RC) of less than 0.8 and an overburden thickness (OT) of more than 13 meters in the southern portion of the research region. In the meanwhile, the yield zones for medium groundwater potential (VES 1 and 9) towards the north and southeast respectively had OT \u003e 13 m and RC \u003e 0.8 while low-and very low yield groundwater potential zones (VES 2-5, VES 8, VES 12), which were located predominantly at the research area's northern section were of OT \u003c 13 m but of RC \u003e 0.8 and RC \u003c 0.8 respectively. Nonetheless, the aquifer protection capacity metrics suggested that roughly 92% of all VES points are rated as \"poor,\" while the remaining 8% reflected weak aquifer protective capacity. According to Piper trilinear analysis, the bulk of groundwater samples are of fresh water status and CaHCO3 type. The GWQI readings were below 100, which suggests that the groundwater is suitable for residential use and places the examined water samples in the \"excellent\" and \"good\" quality categories. Effective information for evaluating the region's groundwater potential and quality has been obtained through the effective application of a combination of hydro-chemical and geophysical approaches.","manuscriptTitle":"Appraisal of Groundwater Potential Zones and Quality in the Sedimentary Formation of Southwestern Nigeria Utilizing Geophysical and Hydrochemical Methods","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-11-11 16:42:43","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7820159/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"068b8185-e1ff-4bfe-95da-6b2aad83d4d6","owner":[],"postedDate":"November 11th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-17T08:56:25+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-11-11 16:42:43","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7820159","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7820159","identity":"rs-7820159","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}