Assessment of aquifer protective strength and groundwater quality within the University of Nigeria, Nsukka campus using geophysical and laboratory techniques

The study integrates geophysical and geochemical methods so as to evaluates the protective strength and the quality of groundwater within the Nsukka campus of the University of Nigeria. Thirteen vertical electrical sounding (VES) points help in delineating the subsurface strata resulting to five geoelectric layers. The values of aquifer resistivity and thickness were used in estimating the longitudinal conductance, transverse resistance, hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity. The longitudinal conductance ranged from 0.018 to 0.093 Ω - 1 , transverse resistance ranged from 91,370.52 to 772,493.50 Ω m 2 , while hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity ranged from 0.1209 to 0.5405 m / day and 12.3988 to 58.0114 m 2 / day ,respectively. These parameters illustrate the hydrogeologic characteristics of the aquifer units. The analysis and interpretation of the water samples revealed that the concentration of the total dissolved solute (TDS), cations and anions where below the World Health Organisation standard (WHO), the only exception was Fe 2 + that exceeded limit in some boreholes. The Magnesium Hazard (MH), Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR) and Sodium percentage (Na%) show the irrigation suitability of the groundwater of the area in order to boost agricultural yield.