SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF URBANIZATION IMPACTS ON WATER RESOURCES USING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM IN KANO CITY
- Authors
-
-
Ajibade Fidelis Odedishemi
Federal University of Technology, Akure, PMB 704, Nigeria
-
- Keywords:
- Urbanization, Water resources, Geographic Information System (GIS);, Groundwater depletion, Sustainable urban planning
- Abstract
-
Urbanization is a global phenomenon, with over half the world’s population now residing in urban areas. Rapid urban expansion, particularly in developing regions like Africa and Asia, exerts immense pressure on natural resources, especially water. This study employs Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing techniques to assess the spatial impacts of urbanization on water resources in Kano, Nigeria. Using high-resolution Landsat TM, ETM+, and OLI satellite imagery, land-use changes, groundwater levels, and surface water distribution from 1994 to 2024 were analyzed. The Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI) reveals a decline in groundwater abundance as built-up areas expanded from 38.4 km² to 40.1 km², driven by intensive urbanization and agricultural activities. While groundwater stress remains minimal in Kano’s original urban core, newly developed metropolitan areas experienced significant depletion between 2014 and 2024. Projections suggest continued groundwater reduction if urbanization persists. These findings underscore profound transformations in Kano’s hydrological cycle, marked by disparities in water availability across urban zones. The study provides critical insights for policymakers and water resource managers, emphasizing the need for sustainable urban planning to mitigate water scarcity in fast-growing cities like Kano.
- Author Biography
- References
-
Abdelaziz, K.K., Nicaise, Y., Séguis, L., Ouattara, I., Moussa, O., Auguste, K., Kamagaté, B., and Diakaria, K. (2020). Influence of land use land cover change on groundwater recharge in the continental terminal area of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Journal of Water Resources and Protection, 12(5), 431 - 453
Ahmed, S., Kumar, S., and Thakur, J.K. (2021). Remote sensing and GIS-based assessment of groundwater depletion due to urbanization. Environmental Earth Sciences, 80(2), 120 - 135.
Ajibade, F.O., Adelodun, B., Lasisi, K.H., Fadare, O.O., Ajibade, T.F., Nwogwu, N.A., Sulaymon, I.D., Ugya, A.Y., Wang, H.C., and Wang, A. (2021a). Environmental Pollution and their Socio-economic Impacts. In: Kumar, A., Singh, V. K., Singh, P. K., and Mishra, V. (eds) Microbe mediated Remediation of environmental contaminants, Woodhead Publishing, Elsevier, US. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-821199-1.00025-0
Ajibade, F.O., Olajire, O.O., Ajibade, T.F., Fadugba, O.G., Opafola, O.T., and Adewumi, J.R. (2021b). Groundwater Potential Assessment as a Preliminary Step to Solving Water Scarcity Problem in Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria. Acta Geophysica, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11600-021-00611-8
Ajibade, F.O., Ajibade, T.F., Idowu, T.E., Nwogwu, N.A., Adelodun, B., Lasisi, K.H., Opafola, O.T., Ajala, O.A., Fadugba, O.G., and Adewumi, J.R. (2021c). Flood-prone area mapping using GIS-based analytical hierarchy frameworks for Ibadan city, Nigeria. Journal of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis. https://doi.org/10.1002/mcda.1759
Ajibade, F.O., Olajire, O.O., Ajibade, T.F., Nwogwu, N.A. Lasisi, K.H., Alo, A.B., Owolabi, T. A., and Adewumi, J.R. (2019). Combining Multicriteria Decision Analysis with GIS for suitably siting landfills in a Nigerian State. Environmental and Sustainability Indicators 3-4, 100010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indic.2019.100010.
Ajibade, F.O., Nwogwu, N.A., Adelodun, B., Abdulkadir, T.S., Ajibade, T.F., Lasisi, K.H., Fadugba, O.G., Owolabi, T.A., and Olajire, O. O. (2020). Application of RUSLE integrated with GIS and remote sensing techniques to assess soil erosion in Anambra State, South-Eastern Nigeria. Journal of Water and Climate Change, https://doi.org/10.2166/wcc.2020.222.
Ayodele, I.V., and Olubaju, A.E. (2024). Geospatial assessment of environmental impact of urban growth in Akure South, Ondo State, Nigeria. Journal of Environment, 4(1), 1 - 23.
Bierkens, M.F., and Wada, Y. (2019). Non-renewable groundwater use and groundwater depletion: a review. Environmental Research Letters, 14(6), 063002
Burri, N.M., Weatherl, R., Moeck, C., and Schirmer, M. (2019). A review of threats to groundwater quality in the Anthropocene. Science of the Total Environment 684,136 - 154
Chen, Y., Zhong, S., Liang, X., Li, Y., Cheng, J., and Cao, Y. (2024). The Relationship between Urbanization and the Water Environment in the Chengdu-Chongqing Urban Agglomeration. Land, 13(7), 1054.
Kiflay, E., Schirmer, M., Foppen, J.W., and Moeck, C. (2025). Impact of urbanization on groundwater recharge: altered recharge rates and water cycle dynamics for Arusha, Tanzania. Hydrogeology Journal. 33:33–47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-024-02870-3
La Vigna, F. (2022). Urban groundwater issues and resource management, and their roles in the resilience of cities. Hydrogeology Journal 30(6), 1657 - 1683
Lerner, D.N., and Barrett, M.H. (1996). Urban groundwater issues in the United Kingdom. Hydrogeology Journal 4, 80 - 89
Moeck, C., Grech-Cumbo, N., Podgorski, J., Bretzler, A., Gurdak, J.J., Berg, M, Schirmer, M. (2020). A global-scale dataset of direct natural groundwater recharge rates: a review of variables, processes and relationships. Science of the Total Environment, 717, 137042
Olabode, O.F., and Comte, J. (2024). Water scarcity in the fast?growing megacity of Lagos, Nigeria and opportunities for managed aquifer recharge. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Water, 11(5). https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1733
Ongaga, C.O., Makokha, M., Obiero, K., Kipkemoi, I. and Diang’a J. (2024). Urbanization and hydrological dynamics: a 22-year assessment of impervious surface changes and runoff in an urban watershed. Frontiers in Water. 6:1455763. doi: 10.3389/frwa.2024.1455763
Ramachandra, T.V., Bharath, H.A., and Sowmyashree, M.V. (2013). Analysis of spatial patterns of urbanisation using geoinformatics and spatial metrics. Theoretical and Empirical Researches in Urban Management, 8(4), 5-24.
Schirmer, M., Leschik, S., and Musolff, A. (2013). Current research in urban hydrogeology: a review. Advanced Water Resources 51, 280 - 291
Siddik, M.S., Tulip, S.S., Rahman, A., Islam, M.N., Haghighi, A.T., Mustafa, S.M.T. (2022). The impact of land use and land cover change on groundwater recharge in northwestern Bangladesh. Journal of Environmental Management 315, 115130
Sridhar, M.B., and Sathyanathan, R. (2020). Assessing the spatial impact of urbanization on surface water bodies using remote sensing and GIS. IOP Conference Series Materials Science and Engineering, 912(6), 062069.
Tuan, V.A., Hang, L.T.T., and Quang, N.H. (2019). Monitoring urban surface water bodies changes using MNDWI estimated from pan-sharpened optical satellite images. FIG Working Week 2019, Geospatial Information for a Smarter Life and Environmental Resilience. Hanoi, Vietnam, April 22 - 26.
Unah, N., and Okopi, M. (2021). Urbanization and Sustainable growth of Urban Kano, Nigeria. IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science, 665(1), 012063.
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. (2018). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision, Online Edition.
Vázquez-Suñé, E., Sánchez-Vila, X., and Carrera, J. (2005) Introductory review of specific factors influencing urban groundwater, an emerging branch of hydrogeology, with reference to Barcelona, Spain. Hydrogeology Journal 13, 522 - 533
Vystavna, Y., Schmidt, S., Diadin, D., Rossi, P., Vergeles, Y., Erostate, M., Yermakovych, I., Yakovlev, V., Knöller, K., and Vadillo, I. (2019). Multitracing of recharge seasonality and contamination in groundwater: a tool for urban water resource management. Water Research 161, 413 - 422
Wakode, H.B., Baier, K., Jha, R., and Azzam, R. (2018). Impact of urbanization on groundwater recharge and urban water balance for the city of Hyderabad, India. Int Soil Water Conservation Res 6(1), 51 - 62
Xu, H. (2006). Modification of normalised difference water index (NDWI) to enhance open water features in remotely sensed imagery. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 27, 3025 - 3033.
- Downloads
- Published
- 2025-05-30
- Section
- Articles
- License
-
Copyright (c) 2025 FUTA JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright
With the submission of a manuscript, the corresponding author confirms that the manuscript is not under consideration by another journal. With the acceptance of a manuscript, the Journal reserves the exclusive right of publication and dissemination of the information contained in the article. The veracity of the paper and all the claims therein is solely the opinion of the authors not the journal.
How to Cite
Similar Articles
- E. O. Ajaka, O. C. Chukwuma, Promax2100: A Computer Programme for Design and Optimization of Mineral Processing Plant , FUTA JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY: Vol. 8 No. 1 (2014): FUTA Journal of Engineering and Engineering Technology
- Ifelola Eyitayo Oluwaseyi , EVALUATION OF THE EFFICACY OF ACTIVATED CARBON TREATMENT OF OLAIJA COAL MINE SURROUNDING WATER BODIES, BENUE STATE , FUTA JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY: Vol. 18 No. 1 (2024): FUTA Journal of Engineering and Engineering Technology
- Ikem, I.A., Akintunde, M. A, Titiladunayo, I. F, Awatt.E, INVESTIGATING THE THERMODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ENERGY SAVING REFRIGERATING SYSTEM WITH COLD ACCUMULATOR , FUTA JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY: Vol. 19 No. 2 (2025): FUTA Journal of Engineering and Engineering Technology
- Taiwo Olabanji, EVALUATION OF DELONIX REGIA SEEDS AS A NATURAL COAGULANT IN THE TREATMENT OF LOW TURBID WATER , FUTA JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY: Vol. 15 No. 2 (2021): FUTA Journal of Engineering and Engineering Technology
- T. S. Mogaji, Development of an Improved Vapour Compression Refrigeration System for Preservation of fresh Vegetables , FUTA JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY: Vol. 13 No. 1 (2019): FUTA Journal of Engineering and Engineering Technology
- O.A Olubosede, , K. B Adedeji, , C. S Odeyemi,, T. H Shabangu, , DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A PID CONTROL FOR A DC MOTOR-DRIVEN BELT CONVEYOR SYSTEM , FUTA JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY: Vol. 19 No. 2 (2025): FUTA Journal of Engineering and Engineering Technology
- John Macaulay, Brendan Ubochi, IMPLEMENTION OF A DSPACE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A NON-ISOLATED DC-DC BOOST CONVERTER , FUTA JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY: Vol. 15 No. 1 (2021): FUTA Journal of Engineering and Engineering Technology
- Oji, I. C., Ale, T. O, Odeyemi, C. S, MODELLING AND SIMULATION OF FAULTS AND FAULT LOCATION DETECTOR FOR RADIAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM , FUTA JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY: Vol. 19 No. 1 (2025): FUTA Journal of Engineering and Engineering Technology
- M. A. Akintunde, K A ADETORO, T. J. Abioye, Development of Refrigeration System for Storage and Preservation of Yam Tubers , FUTA JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY: Vol. 13 No. 2 (2019): FUTA Journal of Engineering and Engineering Technology
- Emem Ayankop Andi , Ja’afaru Yahaya Bawa, Emem A. A, ’afaru Y. B, EFFECT OF DRILLING PARAMETERS ON DRILLING PERFORMANCE FACTORS IN HORIZONTAL WELLS USING SIMULATION APPROACH. , FUTA JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY: Vol. 18 No. 2 (2024): FUTA Journal of Engineering and Engineering Technology
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
