Groundwater Resources Assessment in Tain River Basin of the Black Volta of West Africa

摘要

The Black Volta basin is one of the most important basins in West Africa that provides support for water supply, irrigation, hydropower and recreation for the communities within this basin. The Tain River basin is a sub-basin within the Black Volta. Most communities within this basin depend on groundwater resources as their main source of water supply. However, the over-growing dependence and limited assessment of the availability of groundwater resources in quality and quantity in the basin have become a worrying factor towards the sustainable management of the resources. The study therefore assessed the quality and quantity of groundwater resources in the Tain River Basin and showed that the total permanent groundwater reserve is estimated as 6.89 × 10~7 m~3 while the total recoverable groundwater as 2.59 × 10~7 m~3. The total recoverable groundwater forms 38 % of the total permanent groundwater reserve and this is the water available for abstraction and recharging of streams and springs. Both the quality and quantity of groundwater in the basin were found to be adequate according to national standards and World Health Organisation guideline values.