Proportionate Risk-Based Approach to Groundwater Quality Sustainability in the Nigerian Niger Delta

Abstract

The vulnerability of groundwater was assessed with the aim of evaluating how susceptible groundwater resources were to pollution from various unsafe acts in the study area. Therefore, fourteen (14) VES were taken using Schlumberger electrodes configuration and the field data was modelled using Res2DINV to obtain the final geolayer parameters. This was used to compute the longitudinal conductance (S) for the overburdens in the studied area; the values for the longitudinal conductance obtained were less than one (1) for the entire subsurface investigated. This suggested that groundwater resources in the studied area are vulnerable to pollution hazards. Because of   the large area of the groundwater resources exposed to pollution hazards from unsafe conditions, the study area was designated safeguards zone. The risk based approach towards protecting the designated area is the enforcement of good land use practices, controlling of high risk activities as well as drilling of monitoring wells especially within VES 10 - VES 14.

Keywords: Unsafe act, Groundwater, Safeguard zone, Vulnerability, Unsafe conditions and Risk.