Evaluation of sedimentary aquifer in tehsil Zehri area using VES technique, Balochistan Pakistan

A geophysical resistivity survey was conducted in Zehri tehsil in the district of Khuzdar for the metering of subsurface hydrogeological properties of aquifers. The Schlumberger electrode arrangement was employed with the vertical electrical sounding (VES) method for subsurface exploration. Two profile lines were designated for the survey. The distance between the two profile lines was about 1500 ​m and each profile contained four VES stations. The results of profile one show the aquifers were encountered in fractured limestone of the Jamburo Formation of Paleocene age at an average depth of 127 ​m, with an average resistivity of 39.7 ​Ωm, and the average aquifer thickness was 54.025 ​m. The result of profile two shows the aquifers were encountered only in VES four in the sandstone lithology of the Ziddi Formation with a resistivity of 79.9 ​Ωm, at a depth of 120 ​m with, and a thickness of 40 ​m. There was no aquifer encountered in the remaining all VES. The main lithology of these VES is thick impervious compacted limestone, shale, and clay of Jurassic age from the Ziddi Formation. The current tube wells were also rapidly depleting in the study area. The main factor behind the decline of aquifers in the study area is an uncontrolled installation of tube wells and continuous pumping of tube wells for agricultural purposes badly puts stress on aquifers and directly deteriorates the quality and quantity of groundwater.