Abstract
Coastal aquifers by nature are vulnerable to the ingress of saltwater from the adjoining sea consequent upon the intensive abstraction of groundwater. The degradation of coastal aquifers becomes more aggravated by increasing demand for groundwater and climate change. How coastal aquifers respond to the effect and degree of aquifer stressing and recharging conditions is unknown. The extent of movement and the process driving its direction is poorly understood. A 3D numerical model was developed to simulate lateral intrusion of saltwater into groundwater aquifer using SEAWAT. Different pum** and recharge conditions were simulated to determine the effects of these variables on the movement of the position of the freshwater-saltwater interface relative to inland aquifers. The results revealed that the freshwater/saltwater interface is near the sea and has not transgressed into inland aquifers. Realistic pum** rates that ranged from 9558 to 17,058 m3/day have no significant effect on the freshwater/saltwater interface. However, the position of the freshwater/saltwater interface was affected by an unrealistic pum** rate that ranged from 3.9 to 6 million m3/day. This underscores the present rate of groundwater demands and usage in the western Niger Delta is insufficient to trigger saltwater intrusion into groundwater aquifers. In addition, simultaneous simulation of recharge reduction with unrealistic pum** conditions enhanced freshwater/saltwater interface movement toward the inland. The sensitivity analysis showed that the freshwater-saltwater interface responded more to groundwater pum** and recharge than the hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer. Understanding how aquifers react to stress and recharge is critical for maximizing the exploitation of coastal aquifers for long-term groundwater resource management and development.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Akpoborie, I. A. (2011). Aspects of the hydrology of the western Niger Delta wetlands: Groundwater conditions in the Neogene (recent) deposits of the Ndokwa area. In Proceedings of the environmental management conference (p. 17), The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria.
Akpoborie, I. A., Aweto, K. E., & Ohwoghere-Asuma, O. (2014). Urbanization and major ion hydrogeochemistry of the shallow aquifer in the Effurun-Warri area. Nigeria, 4(1), 37–46.
Akpokodje, E. G., Etu-Efeotor, J. O., & Mbeledogu,I. U (1996). A study of environmental effects of deep subsurface injection of drilling waste on water resources of the Niger Delta” CORDEC, University of Port Harcourt, Choba, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Allen, J. R. L. (1965). Late quaternary Niger Delta and adjacent areas. Sedimentary Environments and Lithofacies, 49(5), 547–600.
Avbovbo, A. A. (1978). Tertiary lithostratigraphy of Niger delta. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 62, 295–300.
Don, N., Hang, N., Araki, H., Yamanishi, H., & Koga, K. (2006). Salinization processes in an alluvial coastal lowland plain and effect of sea water level rise. Environmental Geology, 49(5), 743–751.
Duong, T. A., Bui, M. D., & Rutschmann, P. (2015). Impact of climate change on salinity intrusion in the Mekong Delta. In Proceedings of the 14th international conference on environmental science and technology, Rhodes, Greece.
Edet, A., Abdelaziz, R., Merkel, B., Okereke, C., & Nganje, T. (2014). Numerical groundwater flow modeling of the coastal plain sand aquifer, Akwa Ibom state, SE Nigeria. Journal of Water Resource and Protection, 6, 193–201.
Guo, W., & Langevin, C. D. (2002). User’s guide to SEAWAT: A computer program for simulation of three dimensional variable density groundwater flow (77p). U.S geological open file report 01-434. https://doi.org/10.4236/jwarp.2014.64025
Khang, D. K., Kotera, A., Sakamoto, T., & Yokozawa, M. (2008). Sensitivity of salinity intrusion to sea level rise and river flow change in Vietnamese Mekong Delta—Impacts on availability of irrigation water for rice crop**. Journal of Agriculture Meteorological, 64, 167–176.
Kumar, C. P. (2012). Climate change impact on groundwater resources. International Journal of Engineering Science, 1(5), 20–32.
Masterson, J. P. (2004a). Simulated interaction between freshwater and saltwater of groundwater pum** and sea level change, Lower Cape aquifer system, Massachusetts (72p). U.S geological survey scientific investigations report 2004a-5014.
Murat, R. C. (1970). Stratigraphy and palaeogeography of the Cretaceous and Lower Tertiary in southern Nigeria. In T. F. J. Dessauvagie & A. J. Whiteman (Eds.), African geology (pp. 251–268). Ibadan University Press.
Negm, A., Bouderbala, A., Chenchouni, H., & Barcelo, D. (2020). Water Resources in Algeria - Part I: Assessment of Surface and Groundwater. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57895-4
NPC. (2006). Nigeria population report for the 2006 national population census. http://population.gov.ng/core-activities/surveys/dataset/. Assessed August 8, 2021.
Ohwoghere-Asuma, O., Akpoborie, I. A., & Akpokodje, E. G. (2014). Investigation of saltwater intrusion in Warri-Effurun shallow groundwater aquifer from 2D electrical resistivity imaging and hydraulic gradient data. New York Science Journal, 7(12), 20–29.
Ohwoghere-Asuma, O., Aweto, K. E., & Akpoborie, I. A. (2012). Investigation of groundwater quality and evolution in an Estuary environment: A case study of Burutu island western Niger Delta, Nigeria. Journal of Environmental Hydrology, 22(5), 1–14.
Ohwoghere-Asuma, O. and Essi, O. E. (2017a). Investigation of Seawater Intrusion into Coastal Groundwater Aquifers of Escravos, Western Niger Delta, Nigeria Journal of Applied. Science and. Environmental Management, 21 (2):362–369. https://doi.org/10.4314/jasem.v21i2.18
Ohwoghere-Asuma, O. (2017b). 2D Electrical Resistivity Imaging of the Effect of Tide on Groundwater Quality in Ogulagha Estuary, Western Niger Delta, Nigeria. Scientia Africana, 1 6(1):122–225
Ohwoghere-Asuma, O., Iserhien-Emekeme, R., Aweto, K.E. (2020a). Geophysical investigation of resistivity and groundwater quality in Ogbe-Ijoh coastal area of the western Niger Delta of Nigeria. Appl Water Sci 10, 70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-020-1144-0
Ohwoghere-Asuma, O., Iserhien-Emekeme, R., & Aweto, K. E. (2020b). The use of very low-frequency electromagnetic survey in the map** of groundwater condition in oporoza-gbamaratu area of the Niger Delta. Applied Water Science, 164, 2–14.
Ojuri, O.O., Ola, S.A. (2010). Estimation of contaminant transport parameters for a tropical sand in a sand tank model. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 7, 385–394. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03326148
Olobaniyi, S. B., Ogala, J. E., & Nfor, N. B. (2007). Hydrogeochemical and bacteriological investigation of groundwater in Agbor area southern Nigeria. Journal of mining and Geology, 43(1), 79–89.
Ophori, D. U. (2007). A simulation of large scale groundwater flow in the Niger Delta Nigeria. Environmental Geosciences, 14(4), 181–195. https://doi.org/10.1360/eg.05240707001
Oteri, A. U., & Atolagbe, F. P. (2003). Saltwater intrusion into coastal aquifers in Nigeria. Petroleum Geologist Bulletin 62, 295–306.
Reijers, T. J. A. (2011). Stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Niger Delta. Geologos, 17(3), 133–162. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10118-011-0008-3
Short, K. C., & Stauble, A. J. (1967). Outline of geology of Niger Delta. AAPG Bulletin, 1(51), 761–779.
Weber, K. J., & Daukoru, E. (1975). Petroleum geology of the Niger Delta. In 9th World petroleum congress proceedings (Vol. 2, pp. 209–221).
WHO. (2017). Guidelines for drinking-water quality: Fourth edition incorporating the first addendum. World Health Organization, Geneva. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241549950
WWAP. (2006). The state of the resource. World water development report 2 (Chap. 4). World water assessment programme. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris. http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/wwdr2/pdf/wwdr2_ch_4.pdf. Last accessed March 31, 2021.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Ohwoghere-Asuma, O., Oteng, F.M., Ophori, D. (2023). Simulation of Saltwater Intrusion into Coastal Aquifer of the Western Niger Delta. In: Chenchouni, H., et al. Recent Research on Hydrogeology, Geoecology and Atmospheric Sciences . MedGU 2021. Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43169-2_30
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43169-2_30
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-43168-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-43169-2
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)