Estimating the groundwater storage for future irrigation schemes

Abstract

Presented in this paper is a feasibility study of groundwater for agricultural use (irrigation) in Northern Ghana. The study was conducted using Geo-electrical data, Boreholes drill logs, results of water quality, and results of the pumping test. The geo-electrical results were to unearth the lithology of the study area; it was found to be underlain with varying geology of both Precambrian and Paleozoic sedimentary formation. These formations consist of phyllite, schist, granite, meta-sediments, and meta-volcanics making up the Precambrian and sandstone, shale, siltstone, mudstones, granitiods also, of the Paleozoic sedimentary. Areas of low resistivity were targeted for drilling per the geophysical results of the profile, values between 24 and 100 ohm.m were zones of probable groundwater occurrence in the study. The groundwater storage capacity and the extractable storage capacity were estimated to be approximately 710,000 km3 and 290,000 km3. The pumping test results acquired from 81 boreholes from the study were used to analyze the sustainability and otherwise. However, groundwater depth was studied using the Static water level (SWL), areas of SWL around 22 m and 25 m are likely to have a shallow depth whereas areas of 17 m would have deeper groundwater depth.

Application of machine learning techniques to predict groundwater quality in the Nabogo Basin, Northern Ghana

“…Siltstone and mudstone aquifers have transmissivity ranging from 0.2 to 16.0 m 2 /d [ 40 , 41 ]. In general, the Voltaian aquifers have a strong relationship between aquifer transmissivity and specific capacity [ 40 , 42 ]. The study area generally has groundwater suitable for domestic and agricultural use but some parameters make the quality poor [ 43 ].…”

Land suitability for irrigation of small reservoirs using spatial techniques in the upper regions of Ghana

“…Every year, it receives approximately 980,000 billion cubic millimetres of rainwater. Only 190,000 ha (5.3% of the potential) of the projected 3.7 million hectares of land have been irrigated, and their contribution to Ghana's agricultural output is negligible (Abdul‐Ganiyu & Prosper, 2021; Siebert et al, 2010). The low productivity can be a result of poor soil quality, harsh climatic conditions, cost of pumping water for irrigation, fragmented data on viable areas for irrigation and lack of skilled personnel.…”

Implications of Land Use/Land Cover Changes and Climate Change on Black Volta Basin Future Water Resources in Ghana

“…According to an FAO report [13,23], Ghana lost 2% of its forest area per year between 1990 and 2000 (i.e., 1.35 million hectares in 10 years). Current and future government policies in Ghana, such as the 'One village One Dam' policy, which seeks to construct about 570 small reservoirs [24] for irrigation and livelihood enhancement of the three northern regions, may further influence LULC changes, streamflow alteration, and quality within these areas [25].…”