Assessment of Groundwater Potential and Vulnerability in Gurku-Gwari and Environs North-Central Nigeria, Using Electrical Resistivity Method

Authors

Keywords:

Gurku-Gwari, Basement Complex, Resistivity survey, Groundwater potential, Aquifer vulnerability

Abstract

Obtaining useful information regarding groundwater potential and vulnerability is essential for deciding whether groundwater can be used for drinking and for other purposes. Water remain one of the vital elements for sustaining any growing population; therefore, this research work is carried out around Gurku-Gwari community, Karu local government area, Nasarawa state, Nigeria; with the aim of evaluating groundwater potential and its vulnerability using vertical electrical sounding (VES) method. A total of fifteen (15) VES locations were surveyed using Omega 2.0 resistivity meter to measure subsurface resistivity variations. The acquired data were processed using WinRESIST 2.0 to determine layers apparent resistivity, thicknesses and to delineate geo-electric layers. Surfer 13, Geosoft, and ArcGIS 10.7.1 softwares were utilized for contouring and map production respectively. The interpreted field curves shows three to four geo-electric layers with model resistivity value ranging from 14.9 Ωm to 51,202.7 Ωm and thickness between 0.8 m to 20.6 m with a maximum depth to fresh basement of about 35.5 m. The aquifer units across the study area occurred predominantly within the weathered/fractured basement. Results of Dar-Zarrouk analysis revealed a longitudinal conductance values ranging from 0.0012 m/Ωm to 0.0436 m/Ωm, transverse resistance variation of 532.35 Ωm2 to 11538.04 Ωm², hydraulic conductivity values of 1.0651 m/day to 9.9210 m/day and transmissivity values ranging from 7.79 m2/day to 139.4 m2/day.  These results suggest that the study area has poor protective capacity which makes the area vulnerable to contamination and the aquifer potential yield is low to moderate. Based on these findings, the most favourable locations for borehole drilling are VES 4 south of Gurku-Gwari settlement and VES 6 and 12 south-west and north-west of Kubobbagi settlement respectively.

Author Biographies

Zakariya Samuel Varah

None

Jonathan Barka

None

Dimensions

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Published

2026-07-04

How to Cite

Assessment of Groundwater Potential and Vulnerability in Gurku-Gwari and Environs North-Central Nigeria, Using Electrical Resistivity Method (Z. S. Varah, J. Barka, & A. B. Danjuma, Trans.). (2026). Nigerian Journal of Applied Physics, 2(1), 149-160. https://doi.org/10.62292/njap-v2i1-2026-70

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2026): Nigerian Journal of Applied Physics - Vol. 2 No. 1

Section

Articles
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Copyright (c) 2025 Zakariya Samuel Varah, Jonathan Barka, Abubakar B. Danjuma

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Assessment of Groundwater Potential and Vulnerability in Gurku-Gwari and Environs North-Central Nigeria, Using Electrical Resistivity Method (Z. S. Varah, J. Barka, & A. B. Danjuma, Trans.). (2026). Nigerian Journal of Applied Physics, 2(1), 149-160. https://doi.org/10.62292/njap-v2i1-2026-70