Environmental Earth Sciences

, Volume 65, Issue 3, pp 881–895 | Cite as

Vertical electrical sounding (VES) and multi-electrode resistivity in environmental impact assessment studies over some selected lakes: a case study

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Abstract

A combined geophysical investigation consisting of vertical electrical sounding (VES) and multielectrode system was carried out to map the subsurface resistivity in all major lakes which are highly polluted by the discharge of sewage and other chemical effluents in greater Hyderabad, India. The structural features identified in the study area play a major role in groundwater flow and storage. The interpretation of geophysical data and lithologs indicates that a silt/clay zone (predominantly silt) has a thickness of 5–10 m all along the drainage from Patelcheruvu to the Musi River. The silt/clay zone inferred close to the lakes is a mixture of clay, silt and sand with more silt content as indicated from the lithologs during drilling. The low resistivity values obtained can be attributed to the pollutant accumulated in the silt which can reduce the resistivity values. Further, the TDS of the water samples in these wells are more than 1,000 mg/l which further confirms the above scenario. The pollution spread is less in the upstream areas whereas it is more in the downstream which can be attributed to the shallow water table conditions and also due to the interaction of surface water and groundwater.

Keywords

Resistivity Lithologs Clay Silt Groundwater Chemical effluents Pollution Drainage Vertical electrical sounding Multielectrode system 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors record their profound thanks to the reviewers for their encouraging review and many useful suggestions therein to improve the text as presented. The second author (S.S) records his thanks to Dr. V.P. Dimri, Director, National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad for his permission to publish this paper.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Earth SciencesSultan Qaboos UniversityMuscatSultanate of Oman
  2. 2.National Geophysical Research InstituteHyderabadIndia

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