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Geoelectrical resistivity survey of the Chennai Sewage Treatment Plants for

Identifying reclaimed water recharge

Article · March 2015

DOI: 10.6084/M9.FIGSHARE.1348790

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 J O U R N A L O F C O A S T A L S C I E N C E S

JOURNAL OF COASTAL SCIENCES

Journal homepage: www.jcsonline.co.nr

ISSN: 2348 – 6740 Volume 2 Issue No. 1 - 2015 Pages 19-23

Geoelectrical resistivity survey of the Chennai Sewage Treatment

Plants for identifying reclaimed water recharge
* T. Selvakumar, M. Mathiazhagan, Madhavi Ganesan
Centre for Water Resources, Anna University, Chennai 600 025, India

ABSTRACT ARTICLE INFO

An electrical resistivity survey was carried out in the premises of Chennai Metro water Sewage treatment plants at Received
Koyambedu, Nesapakkam, Kodungaiyur, Perungudi and Anna University to assess the suitability for reclaimed water 2 November 2014
recharge and also to understand groundwater conditions, such as depth, thickness and location of the aquifer and the Accepted
type of water. The geo-electrical methods used in the survey are Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) in and around the 20 March 2015
Chennai Sewage Treatment Plants. The 5 VES points were conducted using the Schlumberger configuration in the Available online
entire study area. The instrument used is ABEM Terrameter SAS 1000. The VES data were interpreted using IX1Dv2 23 March 2015
software which showed that the area is composed of top soil (clay and Alluvium), clay, sandy clay, weathered gneiss,
jointed gneiss and massive charnockite. These layer parameters thus obtained from the analysis were used together
with existing boreholes to estimate the depth and thickness of each layer as well as correlating water quality with the Keywords
aquifer apparent resistivity. The curves are prominently of H-type indicating the presence of three layers followed by Chennai Sewage
combination of curves (HA and HK) indicating the four sub-surface layers. Interpretation reveals the number of Treatment Plants
subsurface layers, their thickness and their water potential zone within the study area. The resistivity varying from Reclaimed water
3.96 Ωm to 2796.4 Ωm and thickness from 0.58 m to 43.05 m. The EC value for VES 1 (Perungudi) and VES 3 recharge
(Koyambedu) are 26 mS/cm and 1.55 mS/cm, and the TDS value for VES 1 and VES 3 are 16,896 mg/l and 993 VES
respectively. Chennai

*Corresponding author, E-mail address: [email protected]

Phone: +91 9444037245
© 2015 – Journal of Coastal Sciences. All rights reserved

1. Introduction
and in sand/gravel where the water table is close to the surface. In
When trying to perform an integrated management of water areas with these conditions, pollution of wells is common. Therefore,
resources, groundwater volumes can be increased by reusing these pedological, geological and hydrogeological characteristics
reclaimed water for recharge. Surface spreading is the simplest, should be examined and mapped in detail, thereby providing a soil
oldest and most widely applied method of artificial recharge. The and subsoil assessment for any area or site. Modern geophysical
ability of the subsoil and bedrock to treat pollutants adequately methods, such as vertical electrical sounding, can play an important
depends on the geological and hydrogeological characteristics of the role in these studies (Tapias et al. 2005).
site, particularly the permeability (including the soil one), the The electrical resistivity technique involves the measurement of
thickness of the subsoil and the depth to the water table. As the apparent resistivity of soils and rock as a function of depth or
reclaimed water migrates from land surface, it first moves through position. The most common electrical technique needed in
an unsaturated zone before recharging the saturated groundwater hydrogeologic and environmental investigations is vertical electrical
system. When water moves through the unsaturated zone (including soundings (resistivity sounding). During resistivity surveys, current
soil), physical and chemical processes occur that can affect the water is injected through a pair of current electrodes, and the potential
(and potential contaminants) volume and rate of movement. Aquifers difference is measured between a pair of potential electrodes. The
associated with thick unsaturated zones (deep water tables) tend to bulk average resistivity of all soils and rock influencing the current. It
have less recharge than aquifers with thinner unsaturated zones and is calculated by dividing the measured potential difference by the
water tends to move slowly in the first situation. Soil and subsoil input current and multiplying by a geometric factor specific to the
provide the most effective protection of groundwater form pollution. array being used and electrode spacing (Zhody et al. 1974).
Organic and clayey soil, and clayey sands/ gravels and permeable The use of electrical resistivity survey for assessing the
sands (i.e combination of sand, silt and clay) are the most suitable groundwater quality and aquifer potential has increased over recent
subsoils for effluent disposal and treatment. decades in the world due to rapid advances in geophysical
In contrast, once pollutants enter bedrock the rate of investigations (Lashkaripour and Nakhaei, 2005). The geoelectrical
purification declines. Groundwater is most vulnerable and at risk method (VES resistivity survey technique) has been used successfully
from pollution where bedrock, particularly limestone, is at or close to for investigating the groundwater potential and its quality in
the surface: where clean, permeable sand/gravel underlies the site; different lithological settings because the instrumentation is simple,
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field operations are easy and the analysis of data is economical and Then, the sounding curves were interpreted to determine the true
less tedious than other methods. VES survey technique, using resistivities and thicknesses of the subsurface layers. IX1Dv2
resistivity meter, is effective to study groundwater conditions and to software was used for data interpretation. A total number of 5
assess the subsurface geo electrical layers. This survey technique can Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) were carried out in the Chennai
also be employed for groundwater investigations. VES data can be STP’s namely Perungudi, Nesapakkam, Koyambedu, Kodungaiyur
analysed using computer software. The outcome of VES data, needs and Anna University. The maximum outer current electrode spacing
verification especially in case of non-homogenous and an-isotropic was 200 m and inner potential electrode spacing was 10 m. The
aquifers (Alabi et al. 2010; Hibbs, 2001; Urish, 1983; Stewart et al. apparent resistivity data are associated with varying depths relative
1983; Mathiazhagan et al. 2012; Mathiazhagan et al. 2013; to the distance between the current and potential electrodes and can
Senthilkumar et al. 2012; Sinkandar et al. 2010). be interpreted qualitatively and quantitatively in terms of a lithologic
For this paper, the methods of investigation include surface and/or geohydrologic model. In the qualitative interpretation
geophysical survey, collection and analysis of water quality data from method the shape of the field curve is observed to assess the number
borewells and lithology data/water quality data from Government of layers and their resistivity. In the quantitative interpretation
and private agencies (Sivaraman and Thillaigovindarajan, 2002). The method, true resistivity ‘ρ’ and layer thickness ‘h’ as the fundamental
underlying objective of this paper was to test the advantage of using characteristics of a geoelectric layer are obtained. The quantitative
this geophysical method for the continuous characterization of the interpretation of VES curves in this study was done by the well–
subsoil structure and suitability of reclaimed water recharge around known method of curve matching. In curve matching technique, the
the Chennai Sewage Treatment Plants. field VES curves are compared with set of theoretical curves to
obtain ‘ρ’ and ‘h’. Soil and Water samples were taken for analysis of
2. Methodology lithological and hydrogeological information and chemical analysis of
the groundwater. These data were used to evaluate the subsurface
The resistivity technique examines horizontal and vertical hydrogeological and lithological conditions and to correlate/calibrate
discontinuities in the electrical properties of the ground. It measures field VES survey curves at these sites.
earth resistivity by passing an electrical current into the ground and
measuring the resulting potentials created. This method involves the 3. Results and Discussion
supply of direct current or low-frequency alternating current into the
ground through a pair of electrodes and the measurement of the The results of data analysis are presented as sounding curves, and
resulting potential through another pair of electrodes (potential tables of geoelectric parameters. The predominant field curve in the
electrodes) (Zhody et al. 1974). Because the current is known and the area is the H type combination curve, a three layer and four layer
potential can be measured an apparent resistivity can be calculated. setup (Figure 2). Table 1 shows that the study area is underlined by
The apparent resistivity of the subsurface material is a function of three and four geoelectric layers. The first layer with topsoil has a
the magnitude of the current, the recorded potential difference and variation. The second layer is shallow having unconfined aquifer with
the geometry of the electrode array used. The current electrodes Sandy clay, Sand and Weathered charnockite rock. The third layer is
spacing (AB) increases after each reading while the potential fracture aquifer with Sandy clay, Sand, Shale and
electrodes spacing (MN) increases only when deemed necessary and Weathered/Fractured charnockite rock. And the fourth layer is deep
controlled by the relation AB/2 ≥ 5MN/2 as required by the fractured/massive charnockite rock.
Schlumberger array. For Schlumberger soundings (Fig. 1), the survey Five sets of readings (from VES 1 to VES 5) were taken for
was conducted with ABEM SAS 1000 Terrameter. Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) and with these readings, the value
of apparent resistivity (ρa) was found out. The ρa value indicates the
geological aspects that is type of lithology and type of water present
in the aquifer. The EC value for VES 1 and VES 3 are 26.4 mS/cm and
1.55 mS/cm, the TDS values for VES 1 and VES 3 are 16,896 mg/l and
992.64 mg/l respectively. The Geophysical survey was carried out
Chennai STP’s. If the apparent resistivity value for water is 10 to 100
ohm-m, the water is of potable use and if the value is above or below
this range the water is not fit for potable use. In this case apparent
resistivity range from .96 Ωm to 2796.4 Ωm. Almost all the VES
locations except VES 5 and VES 3 were totally damaged and it is not
Fig. 1 Schlumberger Sounding or Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) fit for potable purpose.

Stations ρa 1 ρa 2 ρa 3 ρa 4 h1 h2 h3 Depth Type Curve RMS Error

VES 1 446 7.6 1060 - 0.69 43.05 - 44.43 H 8.34
VES 2 702 7.61 508 - 0.58 28.97 - 29.55 H 6.81
VES 3 9.95 3.97 21 2796 2.31 11.95 9.98 24.24 HA 13.42
VES 4 12.1 3.96 7.51 1950 1.81 13.12 7.64 22.57 HA 10.6
VES 5 21.6 11.9 315 53.69 0.89 4.71 8.49 14.09 HK 3.37
Table1 Summary of modeling results for all soundings

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Fig. 2 Vertical Electrical Sounding Interpretation results

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4.1. Correlation of VES results with existing borehole

Acknowledgements
The success of any geophysical survey depends on the calibration of
the geophysical data with actual hydrogeological and geological The authors are thankful to Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and
ground truth information. To understand the relationship between Sewerage Board and Anna University for granting permission to
geoelectric parameters (formation, thickness and resistivity) and conduct the geophysical survey at Chennai Metro water Sewage
hydrogeological characteristics of formations for the investigated Treatment Plants sites and Anna University STP site.

Fig. 3 Geoelectric section

and bore-log for the study
area

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interpreted using computer software 1X1Dv2 were found to be in Groundwater Potential in Lagos State University, OJO; Using Geoelectrical
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