Groundwater potential assessment as a preliminary step to solving water scarcity challenges in Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria

Water scarcity is a major challenge around the world, particularly in Ekpoma community, Edo State, Nigeria. The population depends on water vendors and reservoir tanks as a means of water supply. This study aims to make an assessment of groundwater potentials for effective and sustainable water resources management in Ekpoma. Seven criteria were considered to determine groundwater potentiality including slope, rainfall, land use, drainage density, distance to lineament, soil, and geology. According to their impact on groundwater, the parameters were grouped into fuzzy membership categories. The groundwater potentiality map was generated by overlaying the fuzzy members. Of the 101.2 km² area of Ekpoma, the high, medium, and low potential zones cover 7.9, 6.4, and 85.7% of the total area, respectively. High and medium groundwater zones were identified mostly on the outskirt of the built-up areas. These groundwater potential areas were discovered to be predominant around the lineament areas suggesting that lineament plays a major role in the potential for groundwater in the study area. Reservoirs can be assigned in these high potential areas. Conclusively, the generated groundwater prospective map can be exploited for hydrological policy making and also by water supply engineers to predict the availability of groundwater.