GROUNDWATER REGULATION: A COMPARISON OF UNITED KINGDOM REGULATED PRACTICE TO UNREGULATED PRACTICE IN NIGERIA

This dissertation work examines the groundwater regulation in relation to regulated practice in United Kingdom and unregulated practice in Nigeria. The work looked at various regulations available for groundwater management, the institution that is responsible for its management, the land use practice, and its effect in order to find out   whether the practice is been controlled in any of the countries. The work recommended what Nigeria government can adopt from United Kingdom regulated practice and the lesson United Kingdom can learn from unregulated practice in Nigeria. It was observed that there are regulations in both countries that govern the management of groundwater extraction; while the regulations are being implemented and adhered to in United Kingdom, the regulations are not implemented and adhered to in Nigeria. There is cause relation between land management practice and groundwater quality in both countries but  the United Kingdom management practice is controlled by Nitrate vulnerable directive while it is absent in Nigeria. From the data gather from both countries, it was observed that almost 300 boreholes were extracted in Uyo, Nigeria between 1994 and 2004 while in Hull, United Kingdom, only 5 boreholes were extracted and licensed between 1965 and 2008. Moreover, the daily quantity and annual quantity of five boreholes in Hull were capped to specific quantity in m3, while in Nigeria; there is no regulated or capped quantity: the data was only based on the storage capacity of the tanks used by the borehole owners for water storage. This implies that there is no capped standard for daily abstraction and annual abstraction which, gives room for wastage, over exploitation of groundwater and aquifer’s deterioration. Therefore unregulated groundwater extraction in Nigeria poses serious effect on land, aquifer, and sustainable usage of water resources, while the regulated practice in United Kingdom is an indication of sustainable practice of groundwater extraction which guarantees both present and future utilization.

Table of Contents

TITTLE PAGE

ABSTRACT

LIST OF FIGURES

LIST OF TABLES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

1___ CHAPTER ONE:

1.1        Introduction

1.2        METHODOLOGY

1.3        STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

1.4        THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

1.5        RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1.6        BACKGROUND INFORMATION

1.7        GEOLOGY

1.8        HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE

1.9        GROUND WATER UTILIZATION

1.10      CONCEPT OF GROUNDWATER REGIME

1.11      DETERMINATION OF GROUNDWATER REGIME

1.12      IMPACT OF URBANIZATION ON GROUND WATER EXTRACTION

1.13      IMPACT OF AGRICULTURE

1.14      HUMAN IMPACT ON WATER CYCLE

2___ CHAPTER TWO

2.1        LITERATURE REVIEW:

2.2        Legislation Status in Groundwater Protection

2.3        GROUNDWATER ABSTRACTION IN UK

2.4        Abstraction License Application Process

2.5        Types of License

2.5.1         Full abstraction license;

2.5.2         Temporary abstraction license;

2.5.3         Transfer abstraction license; and

2.5.4         Impoundment license.

2.6        Full Abstraction License

2.7        Temporary Abstraction License

2.8        Transfer Abstraction License

2.9        Impoundment License

2.10      BETTER REGULATION FOR WATER QUALITY

2.11      OPERATIONAL RISK APPRAISAL (OPRA)

2.11.1       Composition and location of the discharge

2.11.2       Complexity of the treatment provided

2.11.3       Recent performance of the operator

2.11.4       Nature of the quality management system in place.

2.12      OPERATOR SELF MONITORING (OSM)

2.13      ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITTING PROGRAMME

2.14      GROUNG WATER SOURCE PROTECTION ZONES

2.15      ZONING PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS IN UK

2.15.1       Zone 1 (Inner protection zone)

2.15.2       Zone 2 (Outer protection zone)

2.15.3       Zone 3 (Total catchment)

2.15.4       Zone of special interest

2.16      GROUNDWATER DIRECTIVES IN UK AND NIGERIA

2.17      Nitrate Vulnerable Zone Directive

2.18      NITRATE AND NITRATE VULNERABLE ZONE

2.19      Nitrate Vulnerable Zone

2.20      GROUNDWATER PROTECTION

2.21      IMPORTANCE OF CODE IN GROUNDWATER PROTECTION

2.22      WATER PRIVITISATION IN UNITED KINGDOM AND ITS IMPLICATIONS

2.23      DRINKING WATER STANDARDS

2.24      TESTING FOR WATER QUALITY

2.25      SOURCES OF GROUND WATER POLLUTION

2.26      Diffuse Pollution

2.27      TYPES OF DIFFUSE POLLUTANT

2.28      Agricultural Pollutant

2.29      Non-Agricultural pollutant

2.30      Sources of Diffuse pollution

2.31      IMPACT OF AGRICULTURAL DIFFUSE POLLUTANTS

2.32      IMPACT OF NON-AGRICULTURAL DIFFUSE POLLUTANTS

2.33      Anthropogenic Pollution of Ground Water

2.34      MEANS OF MINIMISING DIFFUSE POLLUTANTS

2.35      APPROACHES FOR ADOPTION OF CATCHMENT SENSITIVE FARMING PROGRAMME

2.35.1       Advice

2.35.2       Scheme

2.35.3       Regulation

2.36      TECHNICAL METHODS TO MINIMISE THE INPUT OF DIFFUSE POLLUTION

2.37      Urban Drainage and Runoff Pollution Control

2.37.1       Source-Control Measures

2.37.2       Control of Atmospheric Deposition

2.37.3       Removal of solids from Street Surface

2.37.4       Hydrologic Modifications

2.37.5       Increase Surface Storage

2.37.6       Grassed Waterways

2.38      RISK ASSOCIATED WITH WATER

3___ CHAPTER THREE:

3.1        Research Methodology

3.2        DATACOLLECTION

3.3        DATA ANALYSIS

3.4        JUSTIFICATION OF THE MODELS

3.5        ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

3.6        ETHICAL ISSUES

3.7        FINDINGS

3.8        TIME SCALE FOR THE RESEARCH

3.9        Timing

4___ CHAPTER FOUR

4.1        DISCUSSION

4.2        DATA ANALYSES

4.2.1         Depth of the borehole:

4.2.2         Year:

4.2.3         Storage capacity and Quantity

4.2.4         Land practice and management:

4.2.5         Effectiveness of Regulation, Government Implementation and Monitoring Procedure

4.2.6         Correlation between Storage, depth, Annual Quantity and Year

4.2.7         Scatter Plot of Depth VS Quantity, Storage VS Quantity and Annual Quantity VS Year

5___ CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1        CONCLUSION

5.2        RECOMMENDATION

REFERENCES

APPENDICES