Water quality of springs and lakes in the Kumaon Lesser Himalayan Region of Uttarakhand, India

Abstract

The scarcity of drinking water has become a bitter reality in many countries. The gap between demand and supply of water has been increasing exponentially year by year. Deforestation, vigorous use of groundwater for agricultural practices, and pollution of our present water resources such as rivers, lakes, and wells are triggering the freshwater scarcity problem. Ninety percent of people in Uttarakhand depend on springs for their daily life activities. In such a case, the quality and quantity of spring water should be a prime topic to be focussed on. In the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, spring water quality is good but there is an issue with its availability, especially in summer. This review paper details the studies that have been conducted on nutrient status, hardness, heavy metals, and the presence of microbiological diversity in spring water. It also uncovers information on some critical springs, geological settings of their aquifers, and the steps that have been adopted to rejuvenate the spring. Some other measures have been carried out by the government and local communities for springs’ revival and their improvement in discharge rate, including the construction of percolation pits, contour trenches, check dams, and improvement of water resources. It has been observed among the analyzed sample that the Kumaon region is dominated by arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and lead, whereas aluminum, barium, cobalt, and manganese are more in the Garhwal region. Apart from springs, this review paper also reveals the physicochemical characteristics of the spring-fed rivers and lakes of the Kumaon region. HIGHLIGHTS Compiled all the water quality data on spring and spring-fed rivers of Uttarakhand at a single place.; Compared the spring water quality of Kumaon and Garhwal regions.; Compiled the work that has been done in Uttarakhand region for spring rejuvenation.; The water-related problem of local people of Uttarakhand has been addressed.; Remote sensing tool was applied for spatial distribution of organic and heavy metals.;

Keywords

• geological settings
• hardness
• heavy metals
• nutrients
• rejuvenation of spring