BOREHOLE FAILURES AND GROUNDWATER DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA1 Dr. Martin O. Eduvie (meduvie@yahoo.

com) National Water Resources Institute Kaduna Nigeria SUMMARY The rates of borehole failures in the country have been on the increase in recent time. This has resulted to duplication and implementation of similar borehole programmes already executed in some localities instead of extending such projects to newer areas that have not benefited previously. The borehole failures have also lead to unnecessary waste of scarce financial resources. In addition, this has resulted to slower level of socioeconomic development of the country. It has been reported that at least 1.1 billion people across the world lack access to safe, clean drinking water. Nigeria with a population of over 120 million people have invested heavily in borehole Projects throughout the Country to satisfy the fast growing demand for safe water and to improve the socioeconomic development of its populace especially in the rural areas. The tasks of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) therefore present an enormous challenge to the Country and the international community. The development of groundwater especially in the rural areas has been supported by the Federal, State and Local Governments over the past twenty years. In addition, the External Supporting Agencies (ESAs) like UNICEF, UNDP, JICA, WaterAid etc. have committed huge sum of money through provision of Drilling Rigs, Geophysical equipment, chemical laboratory Kits, handpumps and spare parts to ensure sustainability of the programme. In recent time some of these ESAs have provided direct funds for private sector drilling of borehole projects. Despite this huge investment, there is still severe scarcity of water supply for domestic, agricultural and industrial purposes. In addition most of the drilled boreholes are failing at a very alarming rate. Some of the reasons for this failure rates could be due to technical, political and financial constraints. In order to meet the MDGs especially for water supply, there is the need to adopt and develop mechanisms or strategies to improve construction quality and functionality of borehole projects in Nigeria. INTRODUCTION Nigeria has a total land mass of 923, 768 sq.km falling between latitude 401 and 130 9N and longitudes 202 and 14030E (Fig.1) and a population currently of about 120 million people. The country has three tiers of government: Federal, State and Local government and is divided into 36 States, a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and 774 local government areas (LGAs). The total replenishable water resource in Nigeria is estimated at 319 billion cubic metres, while the groundwater component is estimated at 52 billion cubic metres. Nigeria has adequate surface and groundwater resources to meet its current water demands. However, in spite of the tremendous efforts put by the various Governments to improve access to potable water supply to all Nigerians, estimates shows that only 58% of the inhabitants of the urban and semi-urban areas and 39% of rural areas have access to potable water supply. Water shortages are acute in some major centres and in numerous rural communities due to a variety of factors including variations in climatic conditions, drought increasing demands, distribution system losses, and
Paper presented at a National Seminar held on the Occasion of Water Africa Exhibition (Nigeria 2006) at Ikoyi Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, on 15th November, 2006
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breakdown of works and facilities. Other challenges facing the sector include funding constraints for improving and rehabilitating broken down schemes, competition between water users, pollution from point and non-point sources and lack of competent and skilled human resources.

Sokoto Katsina Zamfara Kebbi Kano Jigawa Yobe Borno

Kaduna Niger

Bauchi

Gombe
Geopolitical Zones

Plateau Kwara Oyo Osun Ogun Lagos Ekiti Kogi Benue Edo Enugu Anambra Ebonyi Imo Abia CrossRiver FCT Nassarawa Taraba

Adamawa

North West North Central North East South West South South South East

Ondo

Delta
Kilometres 0 50 100 150 200 250

Bayelsa Rivers AkwaIbom

Fig. 1: Map of Nigeria showing the States of the Federation and Federal Capital Territory. Why groundwater? Groundwater is the water stored in an aquifer in pore spaces or fractures in rocks or sediments. Groundwater is generally a readily available source of water throughout populated Africa but the construction costs for sustainable supplies are high. The reason why groundwater is preferred to surface water includes: Its relative low costs compared to surface water Availability in most areas Potable without treatment Employs low cost technologies The frequent drought problems enforce the use of groundwater source as many small intermittent rivers and streams dry out during the dry season. GENERAL GEOLOGY OF NIGERIA The geology of the country controls and influences the pattern of the drainage. There are numerous major rivers like R. Niger and Benue, as well as several other perennial and seasonal rivers and streams which form tributaries to the bigger ones. In the basement areas drainage pattern varies from dendritic to trellis, while in the very permeable soils of the sedimentary areas the drainage pattern is widely spaced and dendritic. Geological Formations and Sequence Nigeria is geologically covered by two broad and distinct formations: the Basement Crystalline rocks and sedimentary rocks. The Basement rocks have underlain about 50% of the total surface area of the country, while the sedimentary rocks covered the remaining areas (Fig. 2).

Geological Map of Nigeria

Fig. 2: Geological Map of Nigeria The Basement rocks are found in four broad segments, in the northwest, southwest, northeast, and southeast (Mambilla Plateau and Oban Massif) segments. Intruding and truncating the Nigerian Basement are a number of Younger Granite Complexes of Jurassic age. Deposited on the crystalline rocks are Cretaceous and younger sedimentary rocks along the Benue and Niger valleys, the Delta region, the lullemmeden basin and the Chad basin. The Basement Complex of the country lies within the Pan-African terrain with four broad litho logical units vis:1. A polycyclic basement of migmatites and gneisses together with relics of ancient metasediments. 2. Younger low to medium grade metasediments and metavolcanics, which form distinct NNE-SSW trending within the migmatite-gneiss complex. 3. Syntectonic to late tectonic Older Granite suite which intruded both the migmatitegneiss and the metasediments. 4. Unmetamorphosed alkaline, calc-alkaline volcanic and hypabbysal rocks, which overlie or intrude the basement and sedimentary rocks. The four major sedimentary basins in the country consist of sedimentary formations uncomformably overlying the basement. Lithologically they comprise sandstones, sands, shales, limestones, sandy gravels, siltstones and claystones that are deposited in a wide variety of sedimentary environments. Alluvial, continental, deltaic, marine, fluviatile and marginal lacustrine environments have all been documented. Superficial alluvial deposits occur as pale coloured sand occurring in the better-developed drainage channels and alluvium in poorly developed drainages. The alluvium contains varying amounts of sand, silt and clay.

GENERAL HYDROGEOLOGY OF NIGERIA Hydrogeological units. Groundwater which can be extracted by boreholes and hand-dug wells occurs in permeable geological formations known as aquifers which have properties that allow storage and movement of water through them. The geological structure of Nigeria gave rise to two types of groundwater pore-type water in sedimentary cover and fissure-type water found in crystalline rocks. There are the following aquifer types in Nigeria 1. Fissure type water in Precambrian crystalline rocks 2. Pore-type water in sedimentary deposits 3. Pore-type water in superficial deposits. The availability of groundwater in areas underlain by crystalline basement rocks depends on the development of thick soil overburden (overburden aquifers) or the presence of fractures that are capable of holding water (fractured crystalline aquifers). The storage of groundwater is confined to fractures and fissures in the weathered zone of igneous, metamorphic and volcanic rocks, the thickness of which range from <10-60 m in arid and humid rain forest. The groundwater resources here are usually limited. The groundwater found in sedimentary deposits is mainly the pore-type, so also the one found in alluvial deposits where Aeolian and fluvial sediments are found. These collectively formed primary aquifers because the water is contained in their primary pore spaces. The several sedimentary formations of variable age, mineralogical and geochemical character found in Nigerian basins, affect the quantity and quality of water found in them. These basins include Chad, Sokoto and Benue Trough, among others. Among the biggest water bearing units in Nigeria, the following should be mentioned: Chad, Kerri Kerri, Nsukka, Benin and Abeokuta Formations. This is because they are largely formed from sandstones, alluvial deposits and other related arenaceous sedimentary rocks. Shales, clays, limestones are generally poor aquifers due to their argillaceous nature. There is little groundwater in them, the one found is only confined to their fracture and weathered zones. These rocks only help to confine an aquifer. Groundwater tapped from confined aquifers is sometimes artesian in nature. Occurrence of groundwater varies with the geology of the area. In the Basement Complex terrain, groundwater occurs in the weathered regolith and in fractures in the fresh crystalline rocks. Where thick weathered zones or fractures in fresh rocks occur, wells and boreholes tap the groundwater for water supply. The use of surface geophysical techniques coupled with down the-hole-hammer has revolutionized groundwater development in the Basement Complex areas. Many communities now obtain water from boreholes either with handpumps or motorized pumps. HISTORY OF GROUNDWATER DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA The establishment of the Nigerian Geological Survey in 1917 has as one of its major objectives, to search for groundwater in the semi arid areas of the former Northern Nigeria. These activities of the authorities of the Nigerian Geological Survey culminated in the commencement in 1928 of systematic investigations of towns and villages for the digging of hand dug wells. The concrete lined well sinking technique that was designed and evolved by the geological Survey are still in use today all over the country.

In 1938, a water drilling section of the Geological Survey was set up and by 1947; the engineering aspects of the water supply section were handed over to the Public Works Department, which is the fore runner of Nigerias today Ministry of Works while the Geological Survey maintained the exploration department. During those years, the importance of groundwater was underlined by the fact that, practically, all the geologists of the Geological Survey were directly or indirectly involved in groundwater supply investigations and all geological mapping reports incorporated a section on water supply. The main function of the groundwater section of the Geological Survey of Nigeria was to collect data on groundwater occurrence, distribution, quality and quantity. A joint programme by the Nigerian Geological Survey and the United States Geological Survey in 1963 on approach to groundwater studies in Nigeria was carried out. The joint programme was designed to explore the artesian basins of the Sokoto and Chad Basins, which led to the need for systematic studies of the other Nigerian hydrogeological basins. These surveys appeared to have laid the basis for the setting up of the present 12 River Basin Development Authorities in the country. The exploration work carried out in the sixties no doubt, provided the necessary information with which the Sahelian droughts of the 1970s were tackled. The last major step in the development of groundwater resources in Nigeria can be seen in the establishment of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and the merging of the water section of the Geological Survey with this Ministry. Borehole Failures rates in Nigeria. The aim of studying borehole failures is to identify the factors responsible for borehole failures and recommend appropriate solution. A survey of 292 boreholes at random, taking into consideration adequate spread within the project area revealed a high failure rate. The most plausible causes of these borehole failures can be attributed to (i) design and construction (ii) groundwater potential/hydrogeological consideration and (iii) operational and maintenance failures. It is possible for one factor to lead to the other. For example, a borehole poorly designed, constructed and completed could result in silt/sand/clay pumping and eventually affect the rubber seals in the hand pumps or the impellers in the case of submersible pumps. Out of the total 292 schemes inspected, 46 are mechanized with submersible pumps, while the rest 246 numbers were fitted with hand pumps. Details of the results are presented in Table 1. Table 1: Result of borehole failure rates (6 states) No. Of Pump 246 46 Functioning 98 27 % 39.8 58.7 Non- Functioning 148 19 % 60.2 41.3 Type of Scheme Hand pump Motorized

DISCUSSION OF RESULTS Borehole reports and interviews conducted at the locations of these boreholes revealed that all the boreholes did function at the time of commissioning. That means that they were quite productive going by the static water level and other aquifer parameters. However, most of them stopped working with time. The major factors responsible for these failures were due to pump failures especially the handpump schemes. Some of these boreholes might not have been adequately developed with the result of sand/silt and clay pumping due to improper borehole

design and construction. This in turn, wears out the rubber seals in the pump housing; with the consequent results of non-functional schemes. Secondly, during the design of these boreholes, some could have been left as an open borehole design and with time, weathering took place and the wall of the boreholes seriously disintegrated, resulting in heavy deposition of sediments. Also, there was no maintenance of the hand pumps installed, and so with continued usage, serious wear and tear occurred until they finally stopped working. The boreholes were abandoned and the community resort to using hand-dug wells or other sources of water supply. In the case of the motorized schemes, failures could result from the pump getting burnt after sand pumping, thereby preventing the impeller from rotating. Other factors included lack of electricity and faulty generators and sometimes problems of diesel to power the generators. Other factors include hydrogeological failures due to the problems of boreholes tapping aquicludes and seasonal water level fluctuations. This could result from poor siting of a borehole due to the absence of proper pre-drilling investigations. The problem of water level fluctuations in aquifers arise when over-pumping may result in dynamic water levels dropping below the pump intake, leading to temporary failures. This situation is quite common when borehole drilled in the basement complex terminate only at the overburden without tapping the fractured basement rocks. It is estimated that less than 50% installed water points (including handpumps and motorized) functions most of the time in Nigeria (Eduvie 2003; 2004). Table 2: Major Borehole Projects in Nigeria

RURAL WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

S.No RWSS Development Events A GOVERNMENT PROGRAMMES 1 National Borehole Programme 2 DFRRI RUWATSAN Programme 3 Petroleum Trust Fund RWS Project 4 Improved Access Programme 5 National RWSS Programme B PROGRAMMES SUPPORTED BY ESAs 6 UNICEF Assisted WES Programme/Project 7 UNDP-World Bank RUSAFIYA Project 8 UNDP RWSS Project 9 European Union Water & Sanitation Programme 10 DFID Water and Sanitation Pilot Project 11 WaterAid RWSS Programme 12 JICA Rural Water Supply Project 13 Development of Local Manufacture of handpumps C KEY SECTOR INSTRUMENTS DEVELOPED 1 Water Supply Sector Memorandum 2 RWSS Sector Strategy and Action Plan 3 Water Resources Decree 101 4 NIS for Handpumps (1st Edition) 5 National Water Supply and Sanitation Policy 6 Generic Act for State RWSS Agencies 7 terim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper 8 RWSS Programme Strategic Framework Democracy 2 Military 5 Military 6 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 PERIOD (IN YEARS, 1981 - 2010) Interim Military 7 Mil 8 Democracy 4 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08

National Borehole Programme Nigerias groundwater resources, which have been developed through shallow dug wells and boreholes emanated from organized government and International Support Agencies like UNICEF, UNDP, EU, DFID etc. Since 1980s, there has been an astronomical increase in the number of wells and boreholes constructed in Nigeria. These have been by governments at all levels, private companies, and international organizations such as UNICEF, UNDP EU; communities and individuals. Well over 60 percent of Nigerians depend upon groundwater for their water supply for domestic, industrial or agricultural use. Key developments in major groundwater programmes during the past two decades and planned developments for the next decade are shown in Table 2 (Habila, 2003). PECULIAR PROBLEMS OF THE NIGERIA PROGRAMME The experience in Nigeria during the execution of this groundwater development programmes have shown that the problems of the developing countries are essentially problems associated with underdevelopment and could be grouped as follows: 1. Shortage of Funds A major problem common to all developing countries is shortage of funds necessary for proper development. Development projects are often purposely planned and designed to meet only part of the needs, due to lack of funds. Unless the project has a properly planned phasing programme, such developments do not often prove beneficial on the long run. 2. Shortage of Manpower There exists a shortage of manpower in adequate number and quality to cope with the magnitude of planning and management problems. Application of system analysis and other methods to solve complex problems in water resources planning and management require a good background and expertise in the disciplines of engineering, mathematics, hydrology, water resources and computer technology. A far greater problem is the paucity of trained personnel in the middle technical and management level. Although, there is greater need for training in the water related disciplines, it is found that students in the Universities in the developing countries offering specialization in these disciplines are usually very few compared with the other disciplines. This has been a major sociological problem in developing expertise in the water related fields. 3. Problem of Acceptance There is always lack of acceptance (and suspicion) of mathematical or sophisticated approaches to the solution of water resources problems by older nationals in top management. This attitude tends to frustrate the efforts of the few younger management personnel who have acquired expertise in systems analysis. Unfortunately, those who could or should use the results of systems analysis should acquaint themselves with the new tool and what it can do for them 4. Lack of Basic Planning Data The degree of reliability of the data used in the planning models is of great significance. Inadequate or unreliable data will seriously affect results and, hence, planning or management decisions made on these results. The scope and nature of data available in

many developing countries have not reached a satisfactory level for sound water resources planning and management. Apart from data on hydrology, data on socio-economic factors are grossly deficient. 5. Time Constraint The developing countries are always in a hurry. Development projects must go on. Little time is allowed for proper design study and analysis. Little attention is usually given to planning at the initial stages for project operation and management. If projects must go on, it is advisable that the planning and design of the water resources projects should be such that they can be used to obtain data for updating the project and for future project design. 6. Political Considerations In the course of executing some of the groundwater programme, politicization crept in most especially during political era For example, during the second Republic. Opposing parties to the ruling centre saw it as a programme that, if not sabotaged, could lead to leaching of a large number of their supporters. A number of party stalwarts distorted the original list of candidate villages and substituted theirs which were not planned for and for which; therefore, predrilling investigations had not been carried out thereby leading to a higher percentage failure. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS In conclusion, the role of groundwater to any nation cannot be overemphasized. It is necessary to stress the fact that everything should be done to understand groundwater in terms of exploration, exploitation and management. The following are recommended: 1. Hydro-geological mapping of a country is regarded as a fundamental map, which has to be prepared and produced with utmost accuracy given the available data as a base for further groundwater development.

2. Africa maintenance culture and attitude and indeed Nigeria should be encouraged to change for the better in the groundwater resources development by planning for and allocating sufficient funds and transparently using such funds for regular maintenance (planned preventive and corrective maintenance of water supply facilities). 3. All borehole and groundwater programme should be harmonized with all actors in the sector to avoid duplication of efforts and build on successes achieved in terms of systems developed, outputs achieved and funding mobilized. 4. Government should facilitate effective service delivery through creating the right policy environment that protects both the service provider and the consumer. 5. Develop and strengthen institutional structure for sustained borehole/groundwater operation and maintenance of water projects. effective

6. Periodic government interventions of borehole programme on a national scale should creates a lot of awareness, provision of water and improve this economic power of the people especially at the Community level

REFERENCES Eduvie, O. M (2003): Exploration, Evaluation and Development of Groundwater in Southern Kaduna State, Nigeria. A Ph.D Dissertation ABU Zaria. 242pp. Eduvie , O.M; Hall S & Galadima A (2004): Groundwater Exploration, Development and Management in Nigeria. A Country Paper presented at the International Conference and Exhibition on Groundwater, AU House Addis Ababa Ethiopia. FMWR (2000): National Water Supply Policy. Habila, O. N. (2003): Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Development in Nigeria. Pre-Print of the 29th WEDC Conference Abuja, Nigeria, 2003. Onugba, A. and Sara, S. G. (2003): Rural Water Supply and Handpump Development in Nigeria. Pre-Print of the 29th WEDC Conference Abuja, Nigeria, 2003.