Geospatial Mapping of Groundwater Potential Zone Using Vertical Electrical Sounding and Remote Sensing Approach for Part of Akure South, Ondo State

The high topography, presence of fresh rocks, and lack of large water bodies around Akure South often lead to failed or unsustainable groundwater development when boreholes and wells are constructed without proper investigation. This study aims to characterise aquifers and delineate groundwater potential zones in Akure South using Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) and Remote Sensing (RS) techniques. Data from VES results were used to compute geophysical parameters and groundwater potential, which were then interpolated into thematic layers using ArcGIS 10.7. These groundwater potential zones were classified into five categories. Remote sensing data, including Aster DEM, Landsat 8, and geospatial data such as geology, rainfall, and soil, were processed into thematic layers using ArcGIS 10.7 and ENVI 5.3. Thematic layers such as lineament density, drainage density, elevation, geology, annual rainfall, land use, and soil were weighted using the Multi Influencing Factor (MIF) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to develop groundwater potential maps. The final groundwater potential zone map combined both VES and RS data, resulting in five zones. The results show that 5% of the area has very low groundwater potential (GWP), 17% low, 44% moderate, 31% high, and 3% very high. Areas like Ipesan and Ilere have very low GWP, while Akure LGA and Ade Super show very high GWP. GRACE/GRACE-FO satellite data suggests the best period for groundwater exploration is between February and May.