Data Scarcity to Groundwater Sustainability: Utilizing Remote Sensing to Building Hydrogeological Knowledge

In many developing communities, groundwater constitutes a source of water that is less sensitive to contamination and seasonal fluctuations when compared to surface water. The necessity of supplying communities with water has largely resulted in focusing on resource development, while little attention has been paid to long-term sustainability. Management of groundwater for long-term sustainability requires knowledge about the physical attributes of aquifer systems including depth, extent, and confinement, information which is largely unknown in developing nations. Remote sensing, particularly from satellite sensors, is suited for providing observations for areas with limited access and where sparse hydrogeological knowledge exists. In this study, remotely-sensed data were used to characterize surface geology including lineament density and orientation, surface lithology, and structure for the Victoria Nile region in Uganda, East Africa. This analysis was used to confirm a conceptual sub-structural model of the western branch of the East African Rift system. This model included regional exposures of the basement rock which potentially confines a regional near-surface aquifer. Analysis of remote sensing data helps define the lithology of the underlying confining unit as well as contacts between rock units to determine aquifer extent that, when coupled with digital elevation data, may provide estimates of volume and recharge potential. Remote sensing of key aquifer characteristics can be important for providing transnational support for local, sustainable water management particularly in developing countries where solutions to water scarcity have been traditionally needs-driven.