Groundwater Recharge Dynamics and Sustainability Under Changing Rainfall Patterns in Ibadan Peri-Urban Communities, Nigeria
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Abstract
This research examined groundwater recharge dynamics and sustainability under changing rainfall regimes over the period 2015 to 2024, Rainfall data were sourced from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) while groundwater level data were collected from ten monitoring wells distributed across four peri-urban areas of Akinyele, Ido, Egbeda, and Ibadan North. Rainfall seasonality, Seasonality Index, Climatic water budget model and groundwater level changes were examined. Pearson correlation and simple linear regression results indicated that total annual rainfall increased by approximately 41 percent between 2015 (1,050 mm) and 2024 (1,480 mm), while mean rainfall intensity rose from 4.3 mm/day to 6.3 mm/day. Despite the increase in total rainfall, mean groundwater depth declined steadily from 9.8 m below ground level in 2015 to 7.5 m in 2024, indicating a net recharge response tempered by storm concentration effects. The Walsh-Lawler Seasonality Index registered values exceeding 1.0 in urbanized zones, confirming increasingly pronounced rainfall seasonality and reduced infiltration opportunity. Recharge potential was highest in vegetated, sandy-soil areas of Akinyele (145 mm/year) and Ido (138 mm/year), and lowest in the built-up areas of Egbeda (96 mm/year) and Ibadan North (88 mm/year). The study concludes that while rainfall remains the dominant driver of groundwater recharge in Ibadan, storm intensification and land-use change are progressively reducing infiltration efficiency and threatening the long-term viability of the aquifer system. Improved hydroclimatic monitoring, land-use regulation, and green infrastructure investment are recommended to enhance recharge sustainability.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
Adewoyin, I. B. (2025). Peri-Urbanization Development in Ibadan: Challenges and Opportunities. Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Research, 1. https://doi.org/10.70382/SJBER.V9I4.034
Alao, J. O., Bello, A., Lawal, H., & Abdullahi, D. (2024). Assessment of groundwater challenge and the sustainable management strategies. Results in Earth Sciences, 2, 100049. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RINES.2024.100049
Amanambu, A. C., Obarein, O. A., Mossa, J., Li, L., Ayeni, S. S., Balogun, O., Oyebamiji, A., & Ochege, F. U. (2020). Groundwater system and climate change: Present status and future considerations. Journal of Hydrology, 589, 125163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125163
Davamani, V., John, J. E., Poornachandhra, C., Gopalakrishnan, B., Arulmani, S., Parameswari, E., Santhosh, A., Srinivasulu, A., Lal, A., & Naidu, R. (2024). A Critical Review of Climate Change Impacts on Groundwater Resources: A Focus on the Current Status, Future Possibilities, and Role of Simulation Models. Atmosphere, 15(1), 122. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15010122
Ding, K., Zhao, X., Cheng, J., Yu, Y., Luo, Y., Couchot, J., Zheng, K., Lin, Y., & Wang, Y. (2025). GRACE/ML-based analysis of the spatiotemporal variations of groundwater storage in Africa. Journal of Hydrology, 647, 132336. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JHYDROL.2024.132336
Ferreira, V. G., Yang, H., Ndehedehe, C., Wang, H., Ge, Y., Xu, J., Xia, M., Kalu, I., Jing, M., & Agutu, N. (2024). Estimating groundwater recharge across Africa during 2003–2023 using GRACE-derived groundwater storage changes. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 56, 102046. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EJRH.2024.102046
Kasim, O., Agbola, S., & Oweniwe, M. (2020). Land use land cover change and land surface emissivity in Ibadan, Nigeria. Town and Regional Planning, 77, 71–88. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/trp/article/view/208385
MacDonald, A. M., Lark, R. M., Taylor, R. G., Abiye, T., Fallas, H. C., Favreau, G., Goni, I. B., Kebede, S., Scanlon, B., Sorensen, J. P. R., Tijani, M., Upton, K. A., & West, C. (2021). Mapping groundwater recharge in Africa from ground observations and implications for water security. Environmental Research Letters, 16(3), 034012. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abd661
Olabode, O. F., & Comte, J. C. (2022). Modelling of groundwater recharge in the megacity of Lagos, Nigeria: preliminary results using WetSpass-M. Advances in Geosciences, 59, 53–57. https://doi.org/10.5194/ADGEO-59-53-2022
Olabode, O. F., & Comte, J. C. (2025). Long-term groundwater security in the fast-growing coastal megacity of Lagos, Nigeria: insights from distributed recharge simulations. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 70(11), 1813–1833. https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2025.2505171
Olawuyi, O. J., Azeez, A. O., & Azeez, A. A. (2021). Improvement of Provitamin A in Maize Varieties Using Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus, Glomus clarum. Bio-Research, 19(1), 1227–1236. https://doi.org/10.4314/br.v19i1.6
Otokiti, K. V., Collins, A. A., Famewo, A. S., & Raheem. Rukayat Tolase. (2021). Monitoring Peri-urbanization in Ibadan Region: Case studies of Akinyele, Egbeda, Ido and Oluyole local government areas. . Discovery, 57(301), 74–85. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347975084
Pazola, A., Shamsudduha, M., French, J., MacDonald, A. M., Abiye, T., Goni, I. B., & Taylor, R. G. (2024). High-resolution long-term average groundwater recharge in Africa estimated using random forest regression and residual interpolation. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 28(13), 2949–2967. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2949-2024
Siyad, S. A., & Mohamed, Z. H. (2025). A systematic literature review on groundwater recharge dynamics under climate variability, land use change and sea level rise. Discover Sustainability 2025 6:1, 6(1), 1331-. https://doi.org/10.1007/S43621-025-02232-3
Thornthwaite, C. W. (1948). An Approach toward a Rational Classification of Climate. Geographical Review, 38(1), 55. https://doi.org/10.2307/210739
Unigwe, R. C., Egwu, L. U., & Ukwueze, C. S. (2022). Prevalence of gastro-intestinal helminths of slaughtered pigs at Bodija abattoir, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Bio-Research, 20(2), 1506–1512. https://doi.org/10.4314/br.v20i2.1
Walsh, R. P. D., & Lawler, D. M. (1981). Rainfall seasonality: description, spatial patterns and change through time. Weather, 36(7), 201–208. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1477-8696.1981.tb05400.x