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American Journal of  
Geospatial Technology (AJGT)

Geo-Spatial Assessment of  Groundwater Potential Zones in Birnin-Kudu Local
Government Area Jigawa State, Nigeria

Nafi’u Umar Garba1*, Sawa Bulus Ajiya1, Tasi’u Yalwa Rilwanu2, Usman Dalhat1

Volume 2 Issue 1, Year 2022
ISSN: 2833-8006 (Online)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajgt.v2i1.2063
https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajgt

Article Information ABSTRACT

Received: August 27, 2023

Accepted: September 25, 2023

Published: October 02, 2023

The study attempted to identify the groundwater potential zones in Birnin Kudu Local Gov-
ernment Area of  Jigawa State, Nigeria using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information 
System techniques. Groundwater is an important source for water supply, considering its 
availability, quality, cost and time effective to develop, and simple accessibility. The study 
used thematic maps like Rainfall, Lineament, Geology, Soil, DEM Soil, Drainage and Land 
Use Land Cover map as GIS layers in geo-database. The rankings/weights of  factor contrib-
uting to groundwater prospects in the study area were evaluated by pair wise comparison us-
ing Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Weightages of  the factors influencing groundwater 
prospects zones in the study area shows that rainfall is one of  the major contributor, and was 
weighed as the highest contributor with (34%) followed by lineament (24%) and geology was 
weighed (14%). The least groundwater contributor in the study area is the land use land cov-
er with (2%). The study showed that the very high groundwater potential areas occupy 59.92 
km2 (2.89%) of  the area, the high potential zones constitute about 527.52km2 (25.45%) of  
the study area and the moderate potential area has the highest area of  602.69km2 (29.07%). 
The low and very low potentials occupy an area of  about 528.13 km2 (25.48%) and 354.75 
km2 (17.11%) respectively. The study concluded that the study area has an abundance.

Keywords
AHP, Geographic Information 
System, Groundwater Potential 
Zone, Remote Sensing

1 Department of  Geography and Environmental Management, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria Kaduna State, Nigeria
2 Department of  Geography Bayero University, Kano State, Nigeria
* Corresponding author’s e-mail: talk2nafiuumar@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION
Water is a chemical substance with a chemical formula 
H2O which can exist in different states as; solid, liquid 
and gaseous forms. Water covers 70.9% of  the earth’s 
surface and it is vital for all known forms of  life. On 
earth, water is found mostly in oceans, rivers, lakes, ponds 
and other surface water bodies (Rilwanu and Haruna, 
2014). Groundwater is the water beneath the surface 
of  the ground. In other words, it is the water that flows 
or collects beneath the earth’s surface. Groundwater 
originates from rainfall, melting snow and ice which 
infiltrates into the ground, percolates through porous 
rocks and stored in aquifers. Groundwater, being a hidden 
natural resource is not amenable to direct observations 
and hence, exploration or assessment of  this vital resource 
plays a pivotal role in determining locations of  water 
supply, monitoring wells and in controlling groundwater 
pollutions (Pandian and Jeyachandran, 2014).
Aquifers, springs and wells are recharged by the flow of  
groundwater. Groundwater is regarded as a finite resource 
which is very essential for agriculture, industrial activities 
and human consumptions since its supply has a profound 
impact on the quality of  life. Nowadays, about 34% of  
the world’s water resources belong to groundwater and is 
an important source of  drinking water (Zeinolabedin and 
Esmaeily, 2015).
Groundwater potentials in an area is controlled by many 
factors such as geology, geomorphology, climate, drainage, 
slope, depth of  weathering, presence of  fractures, surface 
water bodies, canals and irrigated fields amongst others 
(Stanley, 2017). Slope for example is one of  the factors 

that control the rate of  infiltration of  rainwater into the 
subsurface and could therefore be used as an index of  
groundwater potential evaluation. On a gentle slope area 
the run-off  is slow allowing more time for rain water to 
percolate, whereas steep slope areas facilitate high run-off  
allowing less residence time for rain water to percolate, 
hence comparatively less infiltrations (Stanley, 2017). 
Consequences of  unsustainable and improper 
groundwater exploration are increasingly evident 
in several parts of  the world due to ever-increasing 
population, urbanization, industrialization and intensified 
human activities (Pandian, and Jayachandran 2014). The 
main concern for groundwater assessment is to maintain 
groundwater supply on a long-term basis for a sustainable 
growth and development. The major sources of  water 
in several parts of  the developing worlds are taps, 
boreholes, hand pumps, open wells, streams and rivers. 
In the absence of  available good and safe water sources, 
people begin to use unsafe sources and this resulted in 
some health problems. 
Increasing population and water scarcity have raised 
the importance of  groundwater zones, as they are a 
major source of  freshwater. Integrated remote sensing 
and GIS are widely used in groundwater mapping. 
Locating potential groundwater targets is becoming 
more convenient and cost effective with the advent of  
a number of  satellite imageries. Remotely sensed based 
groundwater exploration has made it feasible to explore 
the areas with limited human access, for the wide visual 
range, short time cycle, and increasing spatial resolution 
(Huajie, et al 2016).



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Geographic information systems (GIS) have emerged 
as powerful tools for handling spatial data and 
decision-making in several areas including engineering 
and environmental fields. Since the delineation of  
groundwater prospect zones involve a large volume of  
multidisciplinary data, an integrated application of  RS and 
GIS techniques has become a valuable tool. Moreover, 
GIS has the ability to process multiple of  data, which 
may reveal certain relationships and visualize different 
types of  information simultaneously. In contrast, remote 
sensing (RS) technology, with its advantages of  spatial, 
spectral and temporal availability of  data covering large 
and inaccessible areas within a short time. GIS has been 
a very useful tool for the assessment, monitoring and 
management of  groundwater resources in different parts 
of  the world (Engman and Gurney 1991, Jha et al 2007). 

MATERIALS AND METHOD
Study aim and Objectives
The aim of  this study is to assess the spatial variation 
of  groundwater potential zones in Birnin Kudu Local 
Government Area of  Jigawa State, Nigeria. The specific 
objectives are to:

• Characterize the factors contributing to groundwater 

potentials in the study area;
• Identify and map the groundwater potential zones in 

the study area, and
• Analyze the spatial extent of  groundwater potentials 

in the study area.

Study Area
The study area Birnin Kudu Local Government is located 
between Latitudes 11º 20′N to 11º39′ North of  the 
equator and Longitudes 09º 10′E to 09º 40′ East of  the 
Greenwich meridian. It covers area of  about 2,073 square 
Kilometers. The main elevation of  the plain surface of  
the area is between 400 - 420m above mean sea level. The 
total annual rainfall received ranges between 500-600mm 
in the region (Olofin 2008). The area is characterized by a 
long dry season which lasts on average of  8 months from 
October to April or May. The mean monthly temperature 
in the area ranges between 30°C and 35°C. The wet 
season mean annual temperature is about 25°C and 
diurnal range of  about 10°C to 13°C. Relative humidity 
ranges from 80% in August to 23% between the month 
of  January and March. The major rivers of  the area are 
River Birnin Kudu, River Masaya and Kiyako (Murtala 
and Yazid, 2019).

Figure 1: The Study Area (Birnin Kudu LGA)
Source: Modified from Administrative Map of  Nigeria.

Data and Software Used 
Data used include remotely sensed data like Landsat 7 
(ETM + 30m) image of  Birnin Kudu and ASTER Global 
Digital Elevation Model (DEM); other maps are geology, 
lineament, drainage density, soil map of  the study area; 
and the rainfall data. Software used include ArcGIS 10.8, 
PCI Geomatica and Google Earth Pro.

Data Processing 
Characterization of  Factors Contributing to 
Groundwater Potential
The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) introduced by Saaty 
(1980) was used to determine the weight of  groundwater 
parameters by integrating the various thematic maps 
(layers) of  the factors contributing to groundwater 



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potentials in the study area. AHP is an effective tool for 
dealing with complex decision making and may help the 
decision maker to set priorities and make the best decision 
without being biased.  The AHP was used to characterize 
the zones into very good, good, moderate, low and very 
low. These zones were characterized based on the aquifer 
properties, soil type, geology and topography.  Table 
3.1 shows the processes involved in weight assignment 
using AHP and Table 3.2 shows weight for the factors 
according to Solomon (2003).

Groundwater Potentials Zones Mapping
Integration of  the thematic maps of  Rainfall, lineament, 
geology, slope, DEM, soil, Drainage density and LULC) 
was carried out in ArcGIS environment. The prediction 
model of  groundwater potentials formulated by Hopkins 
(1977) for generating suitability maps was adopted. It is 
given as:
GwP = DDw + Gw + Tw + SStw + Rw + SCw + 
LDw…Ow                 (1)
Where; GwP = Groundwater potentials, DD = drainage 
density, Gw = Geology, T = Topography SS = Slope 
steepness, R = Rainfall, SC = soil and clay ratio, LD = 
Lineament density, w = weightage, O = other parameters.
This was modified for the study as adopted by Mogaji,  
Aboyeji and Omosuyi (2011), Mary (2016) and Nasiru 
(2017).
Groundwater Potential Zones Gwp= 
Rw+LDw+Gw+Sw+DEMw+Sw+DDw+LULCw
where;
Rw = Rainfall weight 
LDw = Lineament Density weight  

Gw = Geology weight 
Sw = Soil weight
DEMw = DEM weight
Sw = Soil weight
DDw = Drainage Density weight
LULCw = LULC weight

Estimating Spatial Extent of  Groundwater Potential 
Zones in the Study Area
Each prospect zone from the groundwater potential 
zones map was converted individually to shape file in 
ArcGIS environment. Geometry calculator tool was used 
in calculating the areal extent of  the various potentiality 
of  the groundwater in the study area. The result is 
presented in a table. 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The result from the Weights of  the factors influencing 
groundwater prospects zones in the study area shows 
that rainfall is the major contributor, and weighed as the 
highest contributor with (34%) followed by lineament 
(24%) and geology was weighed (14%). The least 
groundwater contributor in the study area is the land use 
land cover with (2%). The study showed that the very 
high groundwater potential areas occupy 59.92 sq. km 
(2.89%) of  the area, the high potential zones constitute 
about 527.52 sq. km (25.45%) of  the study area and the 
moderate potential area has the highest area of  602.69 
sq. km (29.07%). The low and very low potentials occupy 
an area of  about 528.13 sq. km (25.48%) and 354.75 
sq. km (17.11%) respectively. The very high and high 
groundwater potentiality are observed in Sundumina, 

Table 1: Procedure for Assigning Weightages in Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)
Scale Degree of  Preference Explanation
1 Equal importance Two elements contributes equally to the objective
3 Moderate importance One Criterion is moderately important than the other.
5 Strong or essential importance One Criterion is strongly important than the other
7 Very strong importance One Criterion is extremely important than the other
9 Extreme importance One Criterion is extremely more important than the other.
2,4,6,8 Values for inverse comparison Can be used to express intermediate values

Source: Saaty (1991)

Table 2: Weights of  all the Factors Influencing Groundwater Potentiality
Rainfall Lineament Geology Slope DEM Soil Drainage LULC Weight

 Rainfall 1 3 3 4 5 6 7 9 34 
Lineament 1/3 1 2 3 5 6 7 9 24 
Geology 1/3 1/2 1 2 2 3 4 7 14 
Slope 1/4 1/3 1/2 1 2 3 4 5 10 
DEM 1/5 1/5 1/2 1/2 1 3 4 5 8 
Soil 1/6 1/6 1/3 1/3 1/3 1 3 5 5 
Drainage 1/7 1/7 1/4 1/4 1/4 1/3 1 3 3 
LULC 1/9 1/9 1/7 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/3 1 2 

Source: Author’s Analysis, 2023



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Figure 2: Rainfall Map
Source: GIS Analysis, 2023

Figure 3: Lineament Map
Source: GIS Analysis, 2023

Figure 4: Geology Map
Source: GIS Analysis, 2023

Figure 5: Geology Map
Source: GIS Analysis, 2023



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Figure 6: Rainfall Map
Source: GIS Analysis, 2023

Figure 7: Lineament Map
Source: GIS Analysis, 2023

Figure 8: Drainage Map
Source: GIS Analysis, 2023

Figure 9: Land use Land cover Map
Source: GIS Analysis, 2023



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Figure 10:  Groundwater Potential Zones of  Birnin Kudu L.G.A. 
Source: GIS Analysis, 2023

Table 3: Spatial Extent of  Groundwater Potentials in the Study Area
Groundwater Potential Zones Area in Sq. Km Percentage (%)
Very High 59.92 2.89
High 527.52 25.45
Moderate 602.69 29.07
Low 528.13 25.48
Very Low 354.75 17.11
Total 2,073 100

Source: Author’s Analysis, 2023

Table 4: Weights of  all the Groundwater Controlling Factors 
Factors Classes Factors 

Weight
Individual 
Weights

Potential Weight 
(%)

Rainfall 750–760 0.34 0.04 Very Low 34
761–770 0.08 Low
771–780 0.14 Moderate
781–790 0.27 High
791–810 0.47 Very high

Lineament 0 -19 0.24 0.03 Very Low 24
20 – 55 0.07 Low
56 – 91 0.11 Moderate
92 – 134 0.23 High
135 - 248 0.56 Very high

Geology Sand Dunes over-Sandstone 0.14 0.38 Very Low 14
Aeolian sand over Alluvium 0.29 Low



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Aeolian sands 0.25 Moderate
Sand dunes over Sandstone 0.21 High
Undifferentiated Basement Complex 0.13 Very high

Slope 0 – 3 0.10 0.39 Very Low 10
4 – 7 0.30 Low
8 – 11 0.17 Moderate
12 – 15 0.09 High
16 – 17.3 0.04 Very high

DEM 387 – 419 0.8 0.36 Very Low 8
420 – 451 0.28 Low
452 – 483 0.20 Moderate
484 – 515 0.12 High
516 – 550 0.04 Very high

Soil Dystric Gleysol 0.5 0.38 Very High 5
Eutric Regosol 0.33 High 
Eutric Cambisol 0.29 Marginally High
Eutric Fluvisol 0.26 Moderate 
Dystric Nitosol 0.21 Marginally Low
Orthic Aerisol 0.13 Low 
Gleyic Regosol 0.04 Very Low

Drainage 0 – 28 0.3 0.04 Very Low 3
29 – 83 0.12 Low
84 – 134 0.20 Moderate
135 – 184 0.29 High
185 – 296 0.36 Very high

LULC Water body 0. 2 0.33 Very High 2
Vegetation 0.26 High 
Bare land 0.19 Marginally High
Built-up Land 0.11 Moderate 
Rock Outcrop 0.1 Marginally Low

0.01 Low 
Source: Author’s Analysis, 2023

Unguwar ‘Ya and some part of  Yalwan Damai, which 
could be attributed to the fact that the area receives 
high amount of  rainfall, lie on low elevated land in the 
central area also highly vegetated. The Moderate areas are 
Birninin Kudu, Kangire, Kantoga, Lafia and some parts 
of  Kwangwara  which are more urbanized and this could 
attributed with run-off  as a result of  urbanization. While 
Wurno, Kiyako and Surko and some parts of  Kwangwara 
are of  low and very low potential areas.   
The study has shown the spatial variability of  ground 
water potential in the study area. The variability closely 
followed variability in the Rainfall, Lineament, Geology, 
Slope, DEM, Soil, Drainage and LULC in the study area. 
Based on the findings, most promising groundwater 
potential zone in the area is related to high rainfall, low 
slope and high lineament density. Most of  the zones 
with low to very low groundwater potential lie far from 
lineaments.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the groundwater potential zones 
have been derived for the entire Birnin Kudu Local 
Government Area of  Jigawa State and classified into five 
categories namely very high, high, moderate, low and 
very low potentials. It is observed from the study that 
the very good groundwater potential zones are located 
in the Northern part of  the study area. It was established 
from the findings that the study area has abundance of  
groundwater potential which can sufficiently take care of  
the domestic needs of  water supply for its populace.
The groundwater potential zones mapping using remote 
sensing and GIS techniques is a rapid, inexpensive, 
accurate with a large areal coverage. Thus, it provides 
range by which the most prospects zones within an 
area in which groundwater occurrence is expected. 
Hence, narrowing down the quest and site locations for 
boreholes and wells will reduce unnecessary work, saves 



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time and cost. Therefore, borehole/well drilling activities 
in the study area should consult this study finding before 
commencing their work.

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