Evaluation of physico-chemical and heavy metals status in irrigation, stagnant, and Indus River water at the trans-Himalayan region

Abstract The water quality of various resources is changing everywhere, including the high-altitude region, which may have adverse health effects on animals and the human population. So far, not much study has been conducted on high-mountain region water resources. Therefore, this study was conducted at Leh-Ladakh, a high-altitude region, to know the water quality of different sources. For this, water samples were collected from irrigation, stagnant (pond), and Indus river water resources and analyzed different physicochemical parameters as per standard methods and heavy metals using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (Optima 7000 DV, Perkin Elmer) at the laboratory. The results revealed that the total mean values of pH (7.58 ± 0.04), electrical conductivity (EC-243.78 ± 18.05 µS/cm), salinity (0.12 ± 0.01%), total dissolved solids (TDS-121.519.75 mg/L), turbidity (1.17 ± 0.22 NTU) and chemical oxygen demand (COD-31.45 ± 0.73 mg/L) of Indus river water, pH (7.43 ± 0.05), EC (231.86 ± 11.00 µS/cm), salinity (0.11 ± 0.01%), TDS (113.31 ± 5.48 mg/L), turbidity (0.85 ± 0.11 NTU) and COD (29.74 ± 0.49 mg/L) of irrigation water, and pH (7.46 ± 0.03), EC (233.14 ± 11.41 µS/cm), salinity (0.12 ± 0.01%), TDS (115.03 ± 5.78 mg/L), turbidity (0.67 ± 0.13 NTU) and COD (29.65 ± 0.57 mg/L) of pond water were within the prescribed limit by World Health Organization (WHO) for drinking water. However, variances in the range of heavy metals were observed in Indus river water, irrigation water, and in stagnant water at different sites. Our results revealed that the As, Cd, and Pb were above the permissible limit of WHO for drinking water. At the same time, the Ni and Cr levels were observed below the maximum permissible limit. Therefore, these water resources, if used for more extended periods, may pose health-related issues to humans and animals from these elements. So, this study finding will help develop specific mitigation strategies for water management for drinking and other purposes.