Journal of African Earth Sciences 139 (2018) 341e353

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Journal of African Earth Sciences

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Why 1D electrical resistivity techniques can result in inaccurate siting

of boreholes in hard rock aquifers and why electrical resistivity
tomography must be preferred: the example of Benin, West Africa
Iboukoun Christian Alle a, b, *, Marc Descloitres c, Jean-Michel Vouillamoz c, Nicaise Yalo b,
Fabrice Messan Amen Lawson a, b, Akonfa Consolas Adihou d
a
International Chair in Mathematical Physics and Applications (ICMPA - UNESCO CHAIR) 072 BP 50 Cotonou, Benin
b
Laboratory of Applied Hydrology, Water National Institute, University of Abomey-Calavi, 01 BP 4521, Cotonou, Benin
c
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, IRD, CNRS, Grenoble INP, IGE, 38000 Grenoble, France
d
National Directorate of Water, Ministry of Water, 04 BP 1412, Cotonou, Benin

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Hard rock aquifers are of particular importance for supplying people with drinking water in Africa and in
Available online 28 December 2017 the world. Although the common use of one-dimensional (1D) electrical resistivity techniques to locate
drilling site, the failure rate of boreholes is usually high. For instance, about 40% of boreholes drilled in
Keywords: hard rock aquifers in Benin are unsuccessful. This study investigates why the current use of 1D tech-
Hard rock aquifers niques (e.g. electrical profiling and electrical sounding) can result in inaccurate siting of boreholes, and
Borehole siting
checks the interest and the limitations of the use of two-dimensional (2D) Electrical Resistivity To-
1D electrical resistivity techniques
mography (ERT). Geophysical numerical modeling and comprehensive 1D and 2D resistivity surveys
2D electrical resistivity tomography
Benin
were carried out in hard rock aquifers in Benin. The experiments carried out at 7 sites located in different
West Africa hard rock groups confirmed the results of the numerical modeling: the current use of 1D techniques can
frequently leads to inaccurate siting, and ERT better reveals hydrogeological targets such as thick
weathered zone (e.g. stratiform fractured layer and preferential weathering associated with subvertical
fractured zone). Moreover, a cost analysis demonstrates that the use of ERT can save money at the scale of
a drilling programme if ERT improves the success rate by only 5% as compared to the success rate ob-
tained with 1D techniques. Finally, this study demonstrates, using the example of Benin, that the use of
electrical resistivity profiling and sounding for siting boreholes in weathered hard rocks of western Africa
should be discarded and replaced by the use of ERT technique, more efficient.
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction 2014; Louan et al., 2015; MacDonald et al., 2012; Vouillamoz

Groundwater in hard rocks is the main water source for many
human communities in Africa (Calow et al., 2010; Mukherji, 2008).
Forty percent of the continent's surface area is constituted by
metamorphic and plutonic hard rocks (MacDonald et al., 2012).
Yields of boreholes drilled in hard rock aquifers are usually low, i.e.
few hundreds to few thousands liters per hour (Gnamba et al.,
* Corresponding author. International Chair in Mathematical Physics and Appli-
cations (ICMPA - UNESCO CHAIR) 072 BP 50 Cotonou, Benin.
E-mail addresses: christian.alle@ird.fr (I.C. Alle), marc.descloitres@ird.fr
(M. Descloitres), jean-michel.vouillamoz@ird.fr (J.-M. Vouillamoz), yalonicaise@
yahoo.fr (N. Yalo), messan.lawson@ird.fr (F.M.A. Lawson), aaconsolas@gmail.fr
(A.C. Adihou).
et al., 2015a). Boreholes, which produce less than 700 l/h, (i.e. the
minimum usually required for supplying a hand pump), are
considered as negative. The resulting “failure rate” of boreholes
commonly ranges in-between 10 and 50% (Wright and Burgess,
1992): in Benin and Burkina Faso for example, recent studies
indicate that 30e40% of the thousands of boreholes drilled in hard
rocks are negatives and then abandoned (Courtois et al., 2010;
Vouillamoz et al., 2014). Such high rates of unsuccessful borehole
drillings cause substantial financial losses, slowdown drilling
campaigns and access to drinking water for the population.
The borehole failure in hard rock aquifers of western Africa is
usually high although the boreholes siting is quite automatically
systematically based on a comprehensive procedure which in-
cludes the systematic use of electrical profiling and sounding (i.e.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2017.12.007
1464-343X/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
342 I.C. Alle et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 139 (2018) 341e353
the so-called “1D” techniques, Darboux-Afouda and Louis, 1989;
Dutta et al., 2006; Keller and Frischknecht, 1966). Although some
published studies use two dimensional (2D) electrical tomography
in West Africa, operational geophysical surveys are still based on 1D
techniques. Thus this study aims at (1) reconsidering the efficiency
of 1D electrical resistivity techniques (i.e. electrical profiling and
electrical sounding) currently used by geophysicists (practitioners),
and (2) assessing whether the 2D electrical resistivity technique
(i.e. Electrical Resistivity Tomography, ERT) can improve the bore-
hole sitting success rate. First, the usefulness of the geophysical
parameter (i.e. the electrical resistivity) is checked by assessing its
efficiency to differentiate the hydrogeological compartments of
hard rock aquifers (i.e. saprolite, stratiform fractured layer, sub-
vertical fractured zone and unweathered rock). Then, numerical
modeling of typical hydrogeological targets is conducted. Finally,
field cases of borehole siting in Benin is presented to check the
modeling results.
2. Hydrogeological targets and common geophysical
practices
Various terminologies are used to describe the hydrogeological
conceptual model in hard rock areas (e.g. Acworth, 1987; Comte
et al., 2012; Koita et al., 2013). In this study, the terminology and
conceptual model is taken from Lachassagne et al. (2014). The
saprolite, i.e. the top layer of unconsolidated weathered rocks, is
located above the stratiform fractured layer (Fig. 1). The stratiform
fractured layer refers to the weathered layer that is fractured from
the chemical action of the weathering process as described in
Lachassagne et al. (2011). The two weathered units (saprolitic and
stratiform fractured layers) form an integrated aquifer system
(Taylor and Howard, 2000). From place to place, this integrated
aquifer system can deepen within or in the surroundings of pre-
existing discontinuities as geological fault, tectonic fracture, dyke,
joint, vein, or lithological contacts (Dewandel et al., 2011). In this
paper, the deepening of weathered units is named “subvertical
fractured zones” (Lachassagne et al., 2014). Pre-existing disconti-
nuities within the fresh basement rock can sometimes be un-
weathered, and are named “unweathered subvertical fracture” in
this paper (Fig. 1).
A borehole has to reach a permeable rock to supply water, but
Fig. 1. Hydrogeological conceptual model of weathered hard rock (adapted from Dewandel et al., 2011).
groundwater storage has to be sufficient to sustain the pumping
yield in-between recharge events. Then, hydrogeologists target
both high permeability and storativity rocks to sit successful
boreholes. In hard rocks, the hydraulic conductivity and storativity
of the underlying unweathered basement rock are very low if not
null, and then without any hydrogeological interest. The higher
hydraulic conductivities in the weathering profile are found in the
stratiform fractured layer and in the subvertical fractured zones.
Because the stratiform fractured layer is generalized (i.e. it extends
over large areas), the main target to sit a successful borehole is a
thick stratiform fractured layer which drains a high storativity
saprolite. If the weathered units (i.e. the saprolite and the stratiform
fractured layer) are eroded, the target to sit a borehole becomes the
subvertical fractured zones. However, this target is more difficult to
reach with the commonly used vertical drilling, as compared to the
generalized stratiform fractured layer.
Several studies confirm that the drilling success rate (e.g.
Vouillamoz et al., 2015b) and the borehole productivity (e.g. Berger
et al., 1980; Dibi et al., 2004; Olayinka, 1992; Vouillamoz et al.,
2015b) are linked to the thickness of the weathered units, the
main driver being the stratiform fractured layer. In West Africa, the
weathered units can be developed over several tens of meters
(Courtois et al., 2010; Dewandel et al., 2006; Vouillamoz et al.,
2015b). From place to place, high clayey content of the saprolite
(Olayinka, 1992) may reduce both the storativity and the trans-
missivity of the reservoir.
Although the main target to sit a borehole should be the
weathered unit and its stratiform fractured layer (if not eroded), a
concept which is still very much alive states that the most favorable
case to sit a borehole is a permeable unweathered subvertical
fracture which drains a thick weathered unit (Okereke et al., 1998;
see example in Fig. 1). Common methods used in identifying these
targets are aerial photographs (Lachassagne et al., 2001; Sander,
2007; Soro et al., 2017) and field inspection to try to localize
zones of possible deep subvertical fracturing (Okereke et al., 1998;
Savane
et al., 1991). In areas considered favorable from this
approach, these procedures are supplemented by electrical re-
sistivity survey (e.g. Olorunfemi and Fasuyi, 1993; Porsani et al.,
2005). Consequently, for decades, the common practice used in
West Africa to locate a borehole site, is to target unweathered

Inter-e
subvertical fractures (e.g. Comite
tats d'Etudes Hydrauliques
 I.C. Alle et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 139 (2018) 341e353 343

Fig. 2. Methodological approach used in the study.

- CIEH, 1984; Darboux-Afouda and Louis, 1989). This is done using
electromagnetic profiling (e.g. Palacky et al., 1981) or direct current
electrical methods (e.g. Lloyd, 1999; Savadogo et al., 1997). The task
of the geophysicist is, then, to acquire data in the field and interpret
them in order to describe the geometries and the nature (i.e. clay
content) of the hydrogeological targets identified by the pre-
liminary analysis.
In Benin, 1D electrical techniques are laid out as follows: first,
one (or rarely several) electrical profiling (EP) is carried out to
confirm the presence of a lineament (i.e. a potential water-bearing
subvertical fracture in the bedrock) identified by the analyses of
aerial photographs and the preliminary field inspection. The EP is
usually performed using constant electrode spacing in a direction
perpendicular to that of the inferred lineament (when known). If
conductive anomalies are detected by EP, they are considered as the
effect of deep subvertical fracture within unweathered rock (un-
weathered subvertical fracture). Second, the geophysicist performs
an electrical sounding (ES) at the location where the conductive
anomaly was detected. The objective of the ES is to quantify the
thickness and the resistivity of both the saprolitic and the strati-
form fractured layers. For convenience purposes, ES is usually
implemented in the same direction as EP, and the quantitative
interpretation of ES is always conducted with a tabular geometry
1D hypothesis.
scope of this paper, but can be found in numerous publications (e.g.
Kunetz and Rocroi, 1970; Reynolds, 2011). For this study, electrical
resistivity surveys were carried out in the field with a Syscal Pro
device from IRIS Instrument. A three-step approach was adopted to
carry out the study (Fig. 2).
3.1. Step 1: efficiency of electrical resistivity to differentiate
hydrogeological compartments
This step aims at checking whether the electrical resistivity is an
appropriate parameter to discriminate and to characterize the
different hydrogeological compartments as described by the
hydrogeological conceptual model (Fig. 1). To cover the diversity of
hard rocks in West Africa, 6 experimental sites located in different
hard rock groups of Benin were selected (Fig. 3). At each site, 3
experimental boreholes were drilled. The cuttings from the drilling
confirm the geological map (Office Be
ninois des Mines, 1984) and

3. Material and methods

This study combines several methods including the drilling of 20

boreholes at 7 sites (6 experimental sites and 1 test site), the
implementation of comprehensive electrical resistivity surveys
including 1D and 2D techniques, the analyses of a database of 2122
boreholes, 400 geophysical surveys, computations and analyses of
104 geophysical numerical models.
Detailed descriptions of the electrical methods are not in the Fig. 3. Location of the study area and experimental sites (Vouillamoz et al., 2014).
344 I.C. Alle et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 139 (2018) 341e353
reveal the dominance of gneisses, migmatites, granites and
micaschists rocks of the Pan-African/Brasiliano Belt (see Adissin
Glodji et al., 2014; Affaton et al., 1991; Ajibade and Wright, 1989).
Then, electrical loggings (EL) were carried out at each experi-
mental site and results were compared with the lithology as
described from the drilling cuttings collected every meter. EL were
carried out from the water table down to the base of the screened
interval using the so-called “normal mode” array (i.e. electrode
spacing of 0.8 m, Chapellier, 1987). The “hole effect” (i.e. influence
of water or mud conductivity) as well as borehole diameter on the
measurements have been taken into account to correct the mea-
surements (see Chapellier, 1987).
The resistivity ranges of each hydrogeological compartment
were obtained by comparing the EL results with the geometry
described by the drilling (e.g. Soro et al., 2017). The saprolite
thickness (i.e. unconsolidated weathered rocks) is defined as the
layer drilled using the rotary technique before the down-the-hole
hammer technique is used in drilling. The top of the stratiform
fractured layer (i.e top of the consolidated weathered rocks) is
defined as the depth where the driller starts to use the down-the-
hole hammer technique. The stratiform fractured layer/unweath-
ered rock boundary was determined at a depth where both the
cuttings indicate no weathering and the resistivity value remains
high and constant with depth. The analyses of the resistivity of the
three hydrogeological compartments were carried out using a total
of 600 resistivity values (the 10th and 90th percentiles were
removed).
3.2. Step 2: geophysical numerical modeling
The aim of the numerical modeling is to check the interest and
limitations of both the 1D and 2D resistivity techniques when
applied in a weathered hard rock environment (e.g. Chandra et al.,
Table 1
Basic tabular geometries (source: 2122 boreholes from the database of the Water Office).
Basic tabular Thickness of saprolite -including the 2 m Thickness of stratiform
geometries top soil layer (m) fractured layer (m)
1 4 6 10
2 12 20
3 18 30
4 24 40
Fig. 4. Models used for geophysical numerical modeling.
2010; Descloitres et al., 2011, 2008; Seaton and Burbey, 2002).
Numerical modeling of EP, ES, and ERT were conducted based on (1)
the resistivity ranges obtained from the analysis of EL (see step 1),
(2) the saprolitic and stratiform fractured layers thicknesses ob-
tained from the analyses of the Benin national borehole database
and (3) the geological structures of hard rock aquifers as described
by the conceptual model (Fig. 1).
First, four tabular models were setup as four base geometries by
increasing the depth to the unweathered rock from 10 m to 32, 48
and 64 m. These depths are the 10%, 25%, 50% and 75% cumulating
frequency of the depth to the unweathered rock, as observed in the
borehole national database of Benin. The weathered unit thickness
was then divided into two sub-units (saprolite and stratiform
fractured layer) using a ratio of saprolite to stratiform fractured
layer thicknesses of 0.6. This ratio is observed in 70% of the bore-
holes of the Benin national database (Table 1) and is also described
elsewhere in the world for non-eroded weathering profile (see
Dewandel et al., 2010; Lachassagne et al., 2011). Finally, a 2 m thick
unsaturated soil (or laterite) was added at the top of each model
(Chilton and Foster, 1995; Comte et al., 2012; Maignien, 1958) to
take into account the top soil. The water table is considered at a 2 m
depth arbitrarily, as shallow water table is often measured in Benin.
Second, 2D structures were added to the tabular-base models.
Four different structures derived from the hydrogeological con-
ceptual models were added to the base models (Fig. 4). The “A”
structure represents an unweathered subvertical fracture. The
fracture width is progressively increased from 2 m to 5 and 10 m
(consistent with Olorunfemi and Fasuyi, 1993). Considering that
most tectonic fractures have a strong dipping angle (Lachassagne
et al., 2011), the dipping angle of the unweathered subvertical
fracture is set to 80
(chosen arbitrarily) and kept constant. The “B”
structure is a local deepening of the weathered unit (both the
saprolitic and the stratiform fractured layers), which may be caused
Top of unweathered Cummulative Relationship of saprolite/stratiform
rock (m) frequencies (%) fractured layer
10 0.6
32 25
48 50
64 75
 I.C. Alle et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 139 (2018) 341e353 345

by a deep underlying subvertical fractured zone or changes in the

nature of the rock (see the hydrogeological conceptual model
(Fig. 1)). The width of this weathered unit is progressively increased
from 5 m to 10, 20, 50 and 100 m. The “C” structure represents a
lateral change in the clay content of the saprolite. The width of the
clayey zone is progressively increased from 20 m to 50 and 100 m
and its resistivity value ranges from clay to clayey sands, i.e. from
20 U m to 50 and 100 U m. The “D” structure is a thin superficial
clayey patch. The width of that clayey patch is progressively
increased from 5 m to 10 and 20 m, and its resistivity from 20 U m
to 50 and 100 U m.
The geophysical numerical modeling was carried out with the
use of the DC2D software (Günther, 2004) to generate 2D synthetic
apparent resistivity pseudo sections. Inversion processes of ERT
data were carried out using DC2D, while ES data were extracted
from ERT pseudo-section to generate electrical sounding data. ES
data were interpreted using IX1D software (Interpex Ltd, 2002)
considering a 1D tabular model. To obtain synthetic data similar to
field data obtained in Benin and West Africa, numerical modeling
was carried out with electrode arrays commonly used in the field.
EP data were extracted for both Schlumberger array (200 m of line
length: “AB/2” ¼ 100 m, frequently used), and Wenner array (150 m
Fig. 5. Resistivity contrast of 400 EP anomalies selected as targets by practitioners in
of line length: “AB/3” ¼ 50 m, sometimes used in Benin). Other
Benin (extracted from EP data analyzed in this study).
electrodes spacing could have been considered because they could
provide a better capability to detect the anomaly. But this implies
that the practitioners should perform several EP on the same site were also interpreted with the same procedure used in numerical
(more time consuming), which is seldom done or even never. ES modelling and results were compared with boreholes data.
were only simulated with the Schlumberger array since other ar-
rays are not routinely used by practitioners. ERT modeling was
carried out simulating 96 electrodes and a spacing of 5 m between 4. Results
electrodes. Wenner, dipole-dipole and the pole-dipole arrays were
also considered (Barker and Moore, 1998). The latter is used for 4.1. Efficiency of electrical resistivity to differentiate
better penetration depth in the thick weathered areas. Finally, 1% of hydrogeological compartments
noise was added to modeled data to take into account more realistic
field conditions. A total of 416 synthetic data set (Shlumberger, The results of the boreholes drilled at F68 experimental site and
Wenner, dipole-dipole and pole dipole) were created using 104 the EL are presented in Fig. 6. Three hydrogeological compartments
synthetic models. can be identified: (1) the saprolite extends from ground surface to
about 30 m depth (where the driller switches from rotary to the
3.3. Step 3: analysis of the numerical modeling results and field down-the-hole hammer, D-T-H), (2) the stratiform fractured layer
validation starts at about 30 m deep and ends at about 50 m depth (where
there are no more weathering indices in the cuttings) and finally,
Simulated EP results were extracted from the numerical (3) the unweathered rock is identified in the two deep boreholes
modelling for the 104 cases. Along all profiles, anomalies were (boreholes 1 and 2) at about 50 m below ground surface. Resistivity
considered to have been detected if resistivity decreases by a factor ranges of the three hydrogeological compartments obtained from
of more than 1.4. This threshold factor of 1.4 is obtained calculating the EL are between 100 and 400 U m for the saprolite, between 200
the ratio between the flat part of the profile just before or just after and 5000 U m for the stratiform fractured layer, and resistivity is
the anomaly and the lower resistivity value at the center of the around 10,000 U m in the unweathered rock.
anomaly. The calculation was performed on 400 EP anomalies from The same interpretations were conducted at the 5 other
the EP database of the Water Office (Fig. 5). Our threshold factor of experimental sites. The ranges of resistivity values of the three
1.4 is close to the value of 1.5 considered as interesting for borehole hydrogeological compartments (i.e. saprolite, stratiform fractured
siting in West Africa (CIEH, 1984). layer and unweathered rock) are well individualized (Fig. 7a); only
The uncertainty in ES interpretation was estimated using the a slight overlap between the saprolite and the stratiform fractured
equivalence principle (Kunetz and Rocroi, 1970). Results were layer can be observed at site FD19. Moreover, the ranges of re-
considered acceptable when the root mean square factor (RMS) sistivity values of a single compartment obtained at the 6 sites are
between synthetic and calculated data is less than 5%. overlapping, indicating that the hydrogeological compartments
For ERT inversion, a classical Gauss Newton method was used, exhibit comparable values despite their lithological differences (i.e.
with median inversion parameters (medium regularization gneiss, granite, migmatite and micaschist). When looking at the
parameter is lambda without anisotropy). Alternative sets of resistivity values of the 6 experimental sites together, resistivity
inversion parameters were not used because, as recommended in ranges vary from one compartment to the other, and only few
the software manual: for routine work, median parameters should outliers can be observed (Fig. 7b). This observation indicates that
be used (Günther, 2004). the resistivity parameter cannot differentiate the geological li-
For field validation, ERT was carried out at the 7 sites (experi- thologies but maps the three hydrogeological compartments well,
mental and test sites, Fig. 3). The geophysical protocols used in the and thus, it is an appropriate tool for hydrogeologists to investigate
field are the same as the protocols used in numerical modelling. hard rock aquifers in Benin. Median values of the resistivities of
Then, EP, ES were extracted from ERT data set. EP, ES and ERT data saprolite, stratiform fractured layer and unweathered rock are
346 I.C. Alle et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 139 (2018) 341e353
Fig. 6. Borehole logs and electrical logging (EL) at F68 experimental site.
Fig. 7. Resistivity values of the hydrogeological compartments. a) resistivity values at each site (unweathered rock not reached at FD17 site); b) all resistivity values.
about 150 U m, 800 U m and 8000 U m respectively.
4.2. Numerical modeling
4.2.1. Electrical profiling results
Results showing the different theoretical responses of EP using
Schlumberger and Wenner arrays are presented in Fig. 8. Each
anomaly is interpreted using a resistivity contrast threshold of 1.4.
Above 1.4, the anomaly is considered as detectable. The structure
“A”, (i.e. an unweathered subvertical fracture), does not produce
any anomaly on EP regardless its width and the depth to the un-
weathered rock surrounding this fracture (Fig. 8a). Even un-
weathered subvertical fractures as thick as 10 m, situated at
shallow depth (i.e. 10 m deep) cannot be identified from EP.
Therefore, these results show that a subvertical fracture within the
unweathered rock cannot be revealed by EP technique. However, if
the unweathered subvertical fracture is wider than 10 m, the model
becomes similar to the “B” structure.
The “B” structure, i.e. enlargement and deepening of both the
saprolitic and stratiform fractured layers, results in a rounded
shape anomaly that can be interpreted as a possible target but only
under certain conditions: deeper the unweathered rock, thicker has
to be the targeted weathered unit deepening to be detectable
(Fig. 8b). In any case, a weathered unit thinner than 20 m cannot be
identified as a detectable situation. More important, enlargement
and deepening of the weathered unit cannot be identified when the
unweathered rock is deeper than 35 m. This modeling result in-
dicates that deep preferential weathering that may occur around
fractures cannot be revealed by EP implemented with common
electrode arrays used in this study.
The “C” structure, i.e. a clayey zone within the saprolite, always
results in a sharp anomaly when using the Schlumberger array
(Fig. 8c). When using the Wenner array, the anomaly is smoother
and identified as a target only if the resistivity of the clayey
saprolite is three times less than the resistivity of the surrounding
saprolite.
The “D” structure, i.e. a thin clayey patch of about 20 m wide
located close to the surface, always results in sharp anomalies, even
when considering a low clay content resulting in a 100 U m
resistvity zone (Fig. 8d). The modeling of EP carried out with a
Schlumberger array always generates anomalies with important
contrast over clayey zones within the saprolite (i.e. “C” and “D”
structures), thus, indicating a false target to the practitioners. The
Wenner EP is much less sensitive to these clayey structures.
4.2.2. Electrical sounding results
Three geophysical models (i.e. “B”, “C” and “D” structures) which
cause detectable EP anomalies, commonly interpreted as targets by
practitioners, were selected (Fig. 9a). No “A” structure was selected
at this stage because an unweathered subvertical fracture does not
result in a significant EP anomaly. ES curves were extracted from
the ERT data set out at the exact location of the EP anomalies
(Fig. 9b).
The inversions of the three ES always result in a three-layer
structure: (1) the top soil is well identified, (2) the saprolitic and
stratiform fractured layer (weathered unit) are clubbed into a single
 I.C. Alle et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 139 (2018) 341e353 347

Fig. 8. Electrical profiling examples above various structures. Left, the initial models, center, the EP results, right, detectability graph obtained from EP analysis. a) unweathered
subvertical fracture ("A" structure); b) enlargement and deepening of both the weathered unit ("B" structure); c) clayey zone within the saprolite ("C" structure); d) a thin clayey
patch of 20 m wide located close to the surface ("D" structure).

electrical layer (suppression effect), and (3) the resistive un-
weathered rock below. In this example, inversion results always
underestimate the thickness of the weathered unit, demonstrating
that when ES is performed with an electrode line perpendicular to
the structure it is not efficient to quantify the thickness of the
weathered unit. The case when the ES electrode line is parallel to
the structure may lead to different results. However, this later case
has not been investigated here because it is never considered by
practitioners in Benin.
4.2.3. Electrical resistivity tomography results
Several examples of ERT inversion, taking the same previous
models (Fig. 9a) are presented. An inversion of the “A” structure
(unweathered subvertical fracture) was added to evaluate if ERT is
efficient enough to reveal this case, undetectable with EP.
For the “A” structure, ERT reveals that an unweathered sub-
vertical fracture cannot be identified with confidence even if the
fracture is as thick as 10 m (Fig. 10a). In the most favorable case of a
thick (10 m) and shallow (10 m) unweathered subvertical fracture,
the slight decrease in resistivity obtained from ERT result cannot be
348 I.C. Alle et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 139 (2018) 341e353

Fig. 9. Electrical sounding (ES) inversions on electrical profiling (EP) anomalies of "B", "C" and "D" structures. a) geophysical models of "B", "C" and "D" structures with their EP; b) ES
curves calculated at the center of EP anomalies data; c) ES inversion results.

Fig. 10. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) of all structures. a) ERT of "A" structure (most favorable case of a thick unweathered subvertical fracture: 10 m); b) ERT of "B", "C" and
"D" structures that were not well characterized by the electrical sounding.

interpreted with confidence as a valuable target by the practitioner.
The “B”, “C” and “D” structures interpreted from the EP as
possible targets are not well characterized by the ES (Fig. 9b). The
ERT clearly improves the characterization of these 3 structures. The
“B-100 model (i.e. an enlargement and deepening of the weathered
unit), is well recovered even if the interpreted width is slightly
exaggerated. ES results may not lead practitioners to select such
locations as a most favorable drilling target, but ERT results clearly
gives the right information needed to make the right decision. Both
clayey zones within the saprolite (model “C-200 ) and superficial
(model “D-400 ) are also well characterized by the ERT. The practi-
tioners can identify clayey zones where EP generates strong
anomalies usually wrongly interpreted as an unweathered sub-
vertical fracture. Similarly to ES, ERT does not characterize inde-
pendently the saprolitic and the stratiform fractured layers (i.e.
resistivity progressively increases with depth), but characterize
well the weathered unit (i.e. the top of unweathered rock is well
recovered). Thicknesses of saprolitic and stratiform fractured layers
then dependent on the practitioner's judgement. If additional
knowledge on the resistivity range of the saprolite (Fig. 7) is
 I.C. Alle et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 139 (2018) 341e353
available using electrical logging (Braun et al., 2009), the practi-
tioner can delineate the saprolite thickness with more confidence
and therefore the stratiform fractured layer thickness. In the nu-
merical case of this study, ERT slightly underestimates the saprolite
thickness by 10e15%. When the unweathered rock is located at
more than 50 m below ground level, the pole-dipole array can
locate the unweathered rock interface with an acceptable estima-
tion (Fig. 10b) thus, confirming logically that more penetrating ar-
rays such as pole-dipole are more suitable (see Loke, 2000) to
investigate deeper structures.
4.3. Field results
Four examples of field results are presented in this paper to
illustrate the efficiency of ERT and the weaknesses of EP and ES. The
first one, FD19 (experimental site), was selected because it is
located in a weathered gneiss geological environment, which is
common in Benin and in West Africa, and also, because instanta-
neous yield measured at the end of the drilling is high (i.e. 25 m3/h)
as compared to the lower yields usually observed in boreholes
drilled in hard rock aquifers (e.g. Courtois et al., 2010; Vouillamoz
et al., 2014). The second and third sites are taken as examples of
“C” and “D” structures (respectively FD30 and F68 experimental
sites). On the last one, the “Sare” site (test site), the practitioners
were looking for the best location to drill a borehole: a first bore-
hole was drilled based on the EP and ES interpretation leading to
borehole failure, and in a second step, a second more productive
borehole sited with the use of ERT.
4.3.1. FD19, FD30 and F68 sites
On site FD19, EP measurements, carried out with the commonly
used Schlumberger array, reveal three conductive anomalies with
resistivity contrasts equal or slightly greater than 1.4 (Fig. 11a). The
main anomalies (#1 and #2), which have higher EP resistivity
contrasts, could have been selected as targets by practitioners. The
ES carried out at anomaly #2 reveals a layer located from ground
surface to 30 m deep whose resistivity value is about 100 U m
(Fig. 11b). This resistivity value indicates a saprolitic layer (Fig. 7b)
and this location could have been selected to drill since the thick-
ness of the saprolite revealed by ES is significant. ERT (Fig. 11c)
reveals that (1) the EP anomaly #1 is actually due to a shallow
variation within the subsurface (decrease of resistivity between
two shallow resistive patches), and (2) anomaly #2 results from
clayey zones located within the saprolite. Thus, siting a borehole on
the basis of the analysis of EP and ES data would result in siting a
Fig. 11. Electrical profiling (EP), electrical sounding (ES) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) results on FD19 site. a) EP with Schlumberger and Wenner arrays; b) ES on
anomaly #2 on Schlumberger EP; c) ERT section using Wenner alpha (WA) and Wenner beta (WB) arrays.
349
borehole for a false reason (i.e. considering EP anomalies as a result
of deep structures). Finally, the borehole drilled at distance equal to
200 m that closely targets the weathered unit deepening was
successful (Q ¼ 25 m3/h). The location of this borehole could even
have been shifted to the left by 20 m (i.e. distance equal to 180m).
The deepening of the weathered unit located between the abscissa
150 and 200 m of the ERT is not clearly revealed by the EP although
it is the real target to drill a borehole. The lithology and the high
yield of the borehole drilled on the edge of this deep weathered
unit confirm the geometry and the interest of the target revealed by
ERT. There is surely an explanation for these thickness variations or
deepening: the presence of ancient fractures, joints, veins, etc., or
slight lithological changes.
Interpreting wrongly conductive anomalies along EP measure-
ments as vertical fracture (instead of clayey zones) is common in
Benin as illustrated by measurements carried out in the other
experimental sites FD30 and F68 (Fig. 12). At these sites, EP
anomalies are clearly related to the clayey saprolite (structure “C”,
FD30 site) or to shallow clayey patches (structure “D”, F68 site).
The interpretation of the field measurements carried out at
FD19, FD 30 and F68 experimental sites confirm the results of the
numerical modeling: (1) clayey zones within the saprolite or at
ground surface (i.e. structures “C” and “D” of the numerical
modeling) create strong EP anomalies which are very frequently
interpreted wrongly as possible targets, (2) ES results can obviously
not reveal 2D structures and tend to underestimate the weathered
unit thickness (when ES is performed perpendicular to the struc-
ture), and (3) unweathered subvertical fractures cannot be directly
identified from electrical measurements. Of course, if the fracture
width is more significant and is characterized by a significant
weathering process, the resulting geophysical signature is clearer.
In these case studies, the success of the boreholes is probably not
due to the fact that the boreholes reach subvertical fracture but
rather to the fact that they reach a productive area of the deepening
clayey-free weathered unit, including the fractured layer.
4.3.2. Sare site
At Sare site, borehole F1 was drilled first, based on the inter-
pretation of EP and ES data. F1 was negative (i.e. yield less than the
threshold of 0.7 m3/h). As already observed at sites FD19, FD30 and
F68 (see above), the EP anomalies selected as targets result from
clayey zones within the saprolitic layer (Fig. 13). Practitioners car-
ried out an ES at the anomaly #1 because of its high resistivity
contrast. The analysis of ES revealed a poorly defined weathered
layer since the range of equivalence is very large.
350 I.C. Alle et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 139 (2018) 341e353
Fig. 12. Electrical profiling (EP) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) results on FD30 and F68 sites. a) EP and ERT using WA and WB arrays on FD30; b) EP and ERT using WA
and WB arrays on F68.
Fig. 13. Electrical profiling (EP), electrical sounding (ES) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) results on Sare site. a) EP with Schlumberger and Wenner arrays; b) ES per-
formed at anomaly #1 along the Schlumberger EP; c) ERT section using WA and WB arrays.
To sit another borehole, ERT measurement was carried out. The
interpretation revealed the reason why EP anomalies are so high:
several 2D clayey structures are present where the first borehole
was drilled. Based on the ERT interpretation, a less clayey zone was
selected at a distance equal to 240 m to drill the second borehole F2
in the surroundings. F2 is a productive borehole with an acceptable
yield of 1 m3/h (common situation for hard rock aquifers in Benin
and West Africa, and suitable for a hand pump installation). Field
measurements carried out at Sare site also confirm the results of
the numerical modeling. Notice that the parent rock is micaschist
and that the clayey zone is related to the presence of amphibolite
with swelling clay.
5. Discussion
5.1. The use of EP and ES
The common practice in Benin and West Africa is to use 1D
techniques (i.e. EP and ES) to characterize 2D geological structures.
However, this approach has serious limitations. EP are mainly
interpreted based on the analysis of the resistivity contrast be-
tween a conductive anomaly and its surroundings. Several authors
also analyzed the shape and the width of the anomalies (e.g. CIEH,
1984; Dieng et al., 2004) but modeling demonstrates that false
targets as clayey zones (i.e. “C” and “D” structures) can result in the
same shape anomalies than real targets as the deepening of the
weathered unit (i.e. “B” structure). Moreover, the shape and width
of an EP anomaly are also controlled by the angle between the EP
direction and the 2D anomaly direction. Yet, the determination of
this angle are not straightforward when working in the field.
Finally, the modeling results of EP are confirmed by numerous field
measurements: clayey zones located at ground surface or deeper
within the saprolite frequently mislead practitioners when using
the commonly used Schlumberger array. The Wenner array is less
sensitive to these false targets but it is rarely used for EP mea-
surements because it is more difficult to implement. Whatever the
array, EP cannot identify the unweathered subvertical fractures.
The interests and limitations of ES in a 1D environment are well
known (Telford et al., 1990). To carry out ES in a 2D environment, it
is recognized that the implementation of ES can minimize the 2D
effects by laying out the electrodes in the same direction as the
geological structure. However, this rule of thumb is rarely applied
in Benin and West Africa because it requires more work and time.
Indeed, implementing EP requires clearing a pathway (i.e. the way
implemented by practitioners in bush) to align the electrodes in a
direction orthogonal to the geological structure, then implement-
ing the ES requires clearing a new pathway in a direction perpen-
dicular to that of the previous EP. Even making this, the condition to
interpret correctly an electrical sounding, the so-called “1D” hy-
pothesis, is not surely achieved. In Benin and probably in most
studies, the common practice is to implement the ES along the
same pathway used for EP, i.e. perpendicular to the geological
structure. Finally, when applied in a 2D environment, as frequently
met in hard rock aquifers of western Africa, ES cannot properly
recover the geometry and the resistivity of the medium: the
thickness of the weathered unit is usually underestimated and, to
 I.C. Alle et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 139 (2018) 341e353
comply with the longitudinal conductance principle, the resistivity
is consequently underestimated (Fig. 9c).
5.2. The use of ERT
The results of the numerical modeling were confirmed by the
field measurements. The main limitations of EP and ES were solved
by ERT: the clayey zones located near the ground surface or within
the saprolite were well delineated and located at their right places
and therefore, were discarded as hydrogeological targets. More-
over, most of the main hydrogeological structures were appropri-
ately delineated thus helping correct interpretation. However,
when applied to hard rock aquifers in West Africa, ERT has some
limitations: (1) an unweathered subvertical fracture cannot be
identified. However this is not a huge draw back, as most positive
boreholes reach fractures from the stratiform fractured layer
located below the saprolite and seldom reach subvertical un-
weathered fracture. (2) When using the Wenner alpha and dipole-
dipole arrays, geological structures located deeper than 50 m
cannot be properly identified with ERT. Only the use of the pole-
dipole array clearly improves the identification of deep structures
when they are at least 20 m wide. However, the pole-dipole array is
seldom used in the field because it is difficult to implement: e.g. it
requires more electrical cable, a minimum distance equal or higher
than 5 times the half of maximum electrode spacing of the in-line
electrodes is required (Razafindratsima and Lataste, 2014). The
remote electrode installation is therefore more costly for the field
team.
In accordance with Soro et al. (2017), this study shows the
effectiveness of ERT for the characterization of the weathered unit,
and the limitation of ERT to identify deep subvertical fractures
located under a thick weathered unit, if any. The use of the com-
plementary Magnetic Resonance Sounding (MRS) method can also
be useful to enhance the understanding of hard rock aquifers (e.g.
Vouillamoz et al., 2014).
5.3. Cost analysis
A cost analysis was performed to measure the financial impact
of the use of 2D resistivity tomography instead of 1D techniques.
The cost analysis is based on the work of Vouillamoz et al. (2002).
Table 2 shows the average costs of geophysical surveys in Benin in
2017. Calculations made below are based on local costs in use in
Benin in 2017 and are mean values derived from several interviews
of engineers. The calculations can be adapted to other local costs.
The conclusions are derived from Beninese case and could differ in
other countries. The calculation includes the staff (engineer, tech-
nician and unskilled workers), the purchase of the vehicle, its
running and depreciation costs, the geophysical equipment
(buying, maintenance and depreciation), and the costs of admin-
istrative support. The geophysical equipment selected for the
calculation are those commonly used in Africa: a robust designed
resistivimeter of 250 W suitable for both EP and ES, and a resis-
tivimeter of 200 W with a switch (multiplexer) and 96 electrodes
with 10 m spacing for ERT. The administrative support costs are the
Table 2
Cost of geophysical surveys, in Euro (V).
Staff Geophysical equipment Vehicle
nb cps Buying cost dd year cps nb Buying cost
EP þ ES 5 98 29,697 5 59 1 36,968
ERT 5 113 83,546 5 167 1 36,968
(nb ¼ number; cps ¼ cost per survey; dd ¼ duration of depreciation).
351
office salaries and administrative costs. Calculations are based on
the following figures: four sites are investigated per week during
six working months per year (corresponding to the dry season), and
average cost of a successful borehole (bhþ) is 8766 V ($10,576 USD)
and 3811 V ($4598 USD) for an unsuccessful one (bh-), values are
extracted from the Beninese costs.
Table 2 shows that the total cost of one ERT survey is about 20%
more expensive than an EP þ ES survey. According to Vouillamoz
et al. (2002) when EP þ ES or ERT is used for geophysical pro-
specting, the financial balance of a drilling programme budget is:
rxbhx ¼ rxbhþþ(1-rx)bh þ cx (1)
with rx the borehole success rate (%), bhx the average cost of an
exploitation borehole, bhþ the average cost of a successful borehole,
bh- the average cost of an unsuccessful borehole, cx the average cost
of the geophysical surveys per borehole. The index “x” is x ¼ 1 for
EP þ ES and x ¼ 2 for ERT.
ERT survey saves money at the scale of a drilling programme if
bh2 < bh1. That means:
r2 > r1(c2þbh)/(bh þ c1) (2)
Using Eq. (2) and considering total cost of ERT survey of Table 2,
the use of ERT saves money at the programme scale if r2 is increased
by 1e3% relative to r1 (r1 ranging in between 40 and 90%). Thus, as
soon as the use of ERT increases the success rate of drilling by more
than 5% as compared to the success rate obtained with the use of 1D
techniques, drilling campaign cost decreases and money is saved at
the scale of the drilling programme. According to the numerical
modelling results and experiences in conducting surveys in Benin,
an increase of 5% in drilling success rate could easily be achieved
using ERT thanks to the discriminating properties of ERT discarding
clayey sites, whatever the success rate obtained with the use of 1D
techniques.
6. Conclusion
As an aid to borehole siting, the common practice in Benin, in
West Africa and most countries in Africa, is to use 1D resistivity
techniques (i.e. Electrical Profiling -EP- and Electrical Sounding -ES-
) to characterize 2D geological structures in hard rock aquifers.
Because the failure rate of borehole sited with the use of EP and ES
is frequently high, (close to 40% in Benin) this study aims at esti-
mating the interest and limitations of both 1D resistivity tech-
niques, and 2D Electrical Resistivity Tomography -ERT- which is less
used. Seven sites located in different geological units of hard rocks
in Benin were selected to carry out comprehensive resistivity sur-
veys and to drill boreholes. Geophysical numerical modeling was
also conducted, and the theoretical findings of the modeling work
were compared to real field experiments.
Both numerical modeling and field experiments clearly show
that 1D resistivity techniques are not appropriate to characterize
common 2D structures of hard rock aquifers. Anomaly on electrical
profiling frequently misleads practitioners by siting boreholes in
Admin support per survey Survey number per year Total cost per survey
dd year cps
5 111 281 100 550
5 111 281 100 672
352 I.C. Alle et al. / Journal of African Earth Sciences 139 (2018) 341e353
shallow clayey zones. Electrical profiling not identify (in cases of
this study) deep subvertical fractures as expected since decades
altought they are wide. In addition, electrical soundings are often
affected by 2D effects and their interpretations are carried out with
a 1D hypothesis that cannot properly reveal the 2D geometry on the
targeted aquifer. Therefore, they seldom give with confidence the
required information to the hydrogeologist.
As compared to 1D techniques, ERT results in a much better
resolution of both 2D geological structures and characterization of
the main hydrogeological targets which are the saprolitic and the
stratiform fractured layers. Common electrodes arrays (i.e. Wenner
alpha and dipole-dipole) are appropriate to investigate down to
50 m deep. For deeper investigation, the pole-dipole array is rec-
ommended. ERT, as 1D techniques, cannot reveal an unweathered
subvertical fracture, if any. However, the existence of such fractures
is not clear from field experiences.
Finally, a cost analysis done with financial cost from Benin
shows that to save money at the scale of a drilling programme, ERT
must only improve by 5% the borehole success rate as compared to
the rate obtained with the use of 1D techniques. Our study suggests
that this objective could be easily achieved considering the effi-
ciency of ERT in discriminating unwanted targets such as large and
thick clayey zones (creating false positive anomaly when using EP)
from interesting targets. These targets are less clayey or even sandy
saprolite, thick stratiform fractured layer, as well as, under certain
conditions, deeper weathered unit around subvertical fractured
zone. We thus advocate for the use of ERT that will enhance the
sub-surface characterization and reduce unsuccessful borehole
siting. For the future, ERT, as well as aerial photograph, should
mainly be used to characterize the weathered unit (saprolite and
stratiform fractured layer) rather than to localize unweathered
subvertical fracture. In conclusion, the use of ERT must be pro-
moted for borehole sitting, with the valuable objective to increase
access to drinking water for rural population in hard rock areas of
Africa.
Acknowledgements
This work was conducted within the framework of the GRIBA
project (Groundwater Resources In Basement rocks of Africa) fun-
ded by the African Union, the European Union, and the Institut de
Recherche pour le De
veloppement (grant AURG/098/2012). The
content of this paper is the sole responsibility of the authors and
can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position
of the European Union or the African Union. This work is also
funded by the support programme to capacity building of IRD: PhD
thesis funding “ARTS00 and "JEAI Aqui-Benin". The authors thank the
reviewers P. Lachassagne and A. E. Akpan who helped us in
improving this paper with their valuable comments. We thank also
M. Boucher, M. Wubda, J.B. Gnonhoue and M. Bidias for their
technical and administrative support.
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