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Uttarakhand being a mountainous state having maximum area under forest cover, about 65% and provides large amount of freshwater river for Ganga basin where habitation and agriculture are dominant. The rising demand of drinking water due to population growth also leads to the water scarcity in the terms of availability of quality drinking water. Contamination mentioned by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), 2009 and low per capita availability of quality drinking water reported by Department of Science and Technology (Government of India), 2010-2015, are the key issues of the state. To understand the availability of safe drinking water it is necessary to understand the overall hydrology of the basin in a spatial domain. The utilization of advance tools and techniques such as spatial models, geo statistical tools, high resolution remote sensing data and numerical hydrological model in the present study will enhance and ensure the water quality issue of Himalayan state of Uttarakhand which is expected to serve the society living along the river basin as well as in mountainous systems. The study will ensure the availability of sufficient quality drinking water to the communities in the selected watershed of each districts, considering the environmental aspects and human health while assessing 26 water quality parameters like color, odour,taste, turbidity, pH, total hardness, iron, chloride, chlorine, fluoride, total dissolved solids, calcium, magnesium, copper ,manganese, sulphate, nitrate, phenolic compound, arsenic, cadmium, lead, zinc, chromium, alkalinity and coliform bacteria etc. and also provide feasible solution of sustainable availability of water. Geospatial water quality and quantity model help to find out the spatio-temporal analysis of contamination and particles movement in the watersheds. Modern geo statistical simulation algorithms can produce multiple subsurface realizations that are in agreement with the conceptual geological models. The quality modeling and monitoring will help in providing portable surface and ground waters to the citizens.

The water quality of six drinking surface water sources of Pithoragarh district of hilly state Uttarakhand has been accessed. The spatial and temporal variations of water quality parameters have been explained with the help of Box and Whisker plots. The selected surface water sources of Pithoragarh district were evaluated on pre-monsoon and post monsoon basis for two consecutive years of 2010 and 2011. The analyzed water quality data was interpreted through various statistical tools and softwares viz. Box and Whisker Plots, Piper and Trilinear Diagram, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Pearson Correlation Coefficient and Water Quality Index (WQI). The seasonal variation in water quality parameters in surface water might be ascribed mainly due to anthropogenic and hydro-geological activities. Further, Pearson Correlation Coefficient revealed positive and negative correlations, which indicated the interrelationships and interactions between certain water quality parameters. The WQI values pointed out th...

The seasonal variation in surface water quality of district Bageshwar, Uttarakhand (India) has been evaluated for 3 years from 2010 to 2012 for determining the suitability of water for drinking and irrigation needs. Water samples collected from different drinking water sources during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons in each year were analysed for 23 water quality parameters including physico-chemical and metal analyses. The analysed water quality parameters show seasonal variation and low concentration in post-monsoon season compared to pre-monsoon season due to dilution effects. The Box and Whisker plots indicated the dominance of major cations and anions in order of Ca2+ > Mg2+ > Na+ > K+ and HCO3− > SO42− > Cl− in both seasons, respectively. Piper trilinear diagram showed that most of the water samples fall in Ca–Mg–HCO3 hydrogeochemical facies. The water quality index revealed deteriorated water quality at some of the sources during pre- and post-monsoon seasons. The Wilcox diagram and calculated sodium adsorption ratio, residual sodium carbonate and sodium percent values indicate that the water was suitable for irrigation purposes in both the seasons. The results concluded that water quality at some of the locations is deteriorating and needs proper monitoring to preserve and maintain its quality to reduce hazards to local population.

The poor water quality, bacterial contamination, seasonal variation, uncertainty in monsoon, lack of sustainability etc. are some major challenges of the water sector in the Himalayan region of India. To tackle the major problem of water quality, River Bank Filtration (RBF) has been applied in Uttarakhand as a domestic water pre-treatment technology. This technique is found to be effective for removal of turbidity and bacterial contamination present in surface water of four rivers of Uttarakhand, namely Alaknanda, Mandakini, East Nayar, and Pinder. The present paper reveals the improved water quality of rivers produced through RBF in a sustainable manner as compared to surface river water being supplied for drinking purpose. The classification of water quality using Pearson correlation followed by Piper trilinear and Chadha’s diagrams further provide support to the better water quality through RBF. Moreover, the results of Water Quality Index (WQI) also reflect the excellent water quality with ‘A-Grade’ of all river water samples obtained after RBF process in comparison to normal river water samples having good water quality with ‘B-Grade’ except the Srinagar site, where the river water sample was found to be unsuitable for drinking purpose with ‘E-Grade’. Alluvial deposits of RBF sites along the banks of the four rivers show the potential of replication of RBF at large scale in the hill state of Uttarakhand.

In the present study, seasonal variation in hydrochemical characters of Kosi River water has been evaluated and assessed the suitability of water for human consumption and irrigation purposes. Water samples were collected during pre-monsoon (PRM) and post-monsoon (POM) seasons of the years 2010 and 2011 and analysed for various physico-chemical, metals and bacteriological parameters according to national drinking water standard of India i.e. BIS:10500. Kosi River raw water and its supply water (water after treatment for domestic) were analysed. The dominance of major cations was in order of Ca2+>Mg2+>Na+>K+ and anions in order of HCO3−> Cl-> SO42− in water. No metal contamination was observed in water except, iron which exceeded the desirable and permissible limits. Total and fecal coliform counts were high in raw water than supply water. Piper diagram indicates that the water samples fall in Ca-Mg-HCO3− hydrochemical facies. Water quality index quantified for raw water was very high and found as ...

The present study on dynamic flow of River Ganga was undertaken for a period of one year from October 2012 to September 2013 to assess the species diversity and impact of pollution on limnological conditions of River Ganga in Uttarakhand, India. In the present study water samples were collected from two important sampling sites Shivpuri and Pashulok barrage of River Ganga in Rishikesh. A total of three groups were identified, total diatoms, green algae and blue green algae, including six major species belonging to diatoms. Higher concentration of phytoplankton species at site 2 indicates polluted nature of river water and can be used as an indicator of organic pollution in the river for domestic use but having positive effect on the growth of these ecological indicators of aquatic ecosystem.