An Assessment of the Relevance of Mapping and Sampling of Land-Use Types on Groundwater Quality in Apapa Local Government Area, Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

The paper examined the assessment of the relevance of mapping and sampling of land-use types; residential, commercial and industrial on groundwater quality in the Apapa Local Government area of Lagos. Mapping of an area provides information, delineation, features and interpretation about an area while sampling revealed detailed analyses about a-cross-sections of the problem identified procedures and proper solutions. There exists a correlation between mapping and sampling of groundwater quality of the land use types in Apapa. The objective of the study was to examine the relevance of mapping and sampling on its effects on groundwater quality of the 3 most land-use types in Apapa. Data for this study were obtained from primary and secondary sources. Primary data were obtained from mapping of the aerial and ground features of the study area and collection of water samples from 30 hand-dug wells. These samples were analysed in the laboratory to ascertain the states of physical and chemical parameters of the 30 sampled points. The techniques of field studies and analyses of mapping and laboratory experimentation of water samples were used for the study. The results show that mapping of the aerial extent and ground features is relevant to sampling collection because mapping is essentials and provides a fulcrum for physical and human features to be examines where samples of an area or events is to be made. The study recommended that at regular intervals, mapping of an area extent and ground features of sampling points of water sources should be done and made available to examine water quality as recommended by WHO, since flow lines of ground water movement convey pollutants which inferably determine the contamination of water sources. This paper calls for further research of mapping and sampling in other major land use types in other Local Government areas of Lagos State, Nigeria.