Abstract

There is proliferation of shallow substandard private water wells, poor distribution of public water wells, poor planning, and poor management of public wells in the Imo River basin Nigeria. Over 60% of water wells developed in the basin is either abortive or not functional. To investigate this, 110 vertical electric soundings (VES), 50 down-hole logs, and 44 pumping test data have been integrated into geographic information system (GIS) in this study. Map of 44 county areas of the basin  was produced. Thematic maps showing mean values of water table, aquifer resistivity, aquifer thickness, and a groundwater prospect map of the basin in five potential areas were also produced. Correlating the GIS  map with regional geologic map defined three groundwater prospect zones in the basin. Sustainable practices recommended are government-private partnership for public wells, and private-private partnership for private wells. Surface water development is recommended in zone 3, against groundwater development. Geophysics/GIS groundwater prospect model shows significant correlation with geology, confirming the effects of geology to groundwater development in the basin.

Key words: Private/Public water wells, geophysics data, geographic information system (GIS) models, abortive wells, geology, sustainability.