Application of WQI for water quality assessment of high-altitude snow-fed sacred Lake Hemkund, Garhwal Himalaya
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(2020) 6:89
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Application of WQI for water quality assessment of high‑altitude snow‑fed sacred Lake Hemkund, Garhwal Himalaya Akash Deep1 · Vidhu Gupta1 · Lalita Bisht1 · Rahul Kumar1 Received: 28 March 2020 / Accepted: 7 September 2020 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract The current study includes the assessment of physico-chemical parameters along with the water quality index (WQI) of water samples collected from the Hemkund Lake, which is one of the most important, sacred, and biggest snow-fed lakes in the Uttarakhand state of India. It is located at an altitude of 4170 m above m.s.l. near to Sri Hemkunt Sahib, the holy pilgrimage of Sikhs. Hemkunt Sahib is covered with snow-capped mountains, giving it a mesmerizing look. The lake remains under snow from the end of September to the end of May or sometimes up to the end of June. Geologically, this is a glacial corrie lake or tarn which is dammed by moraines with medium-class depth. Devotees, tourists, and wild animals are entirely depending on this lake to fulfill their water requirements. A total of nineteen physico-chemical parameters and WQI were assessed to evaluate the health status of water of Himalayan snow-fed lake Hemkund. The recorded observations and WQI value (35.63) demonstrated that the health status of water of the Himalayan snow-fed lake Hemkund in broad term stands “excellent” as per the given standards of various organizations for drinking water. This lake is facing a high rate of degradation and instantly needs conservation and management. The current study on the assessment of water quality of Hemkund Lake can be a useful reference for further studies on similar aspects in other parts of the Himalayas. This baseline information will also be instrumental for the conservation and management of the lake. Keywords Physico-chemical parameters · Water quality · WQI · Snow-fed · Hemkund Lake · Garhwal Himalaya Abbreviations WQI Water quality index EC Electrical conductivity DO Dissolved oxygen TDS Total dissolved solids BOD Biological oxygen demand WHO World Health Organization BIS Bureau of Indian Standards CFU Colony forming unit CPCB Central Pollution Control Board
* Rahul Kumar [email protected] 1
Laboratory of Freshwater Biology, Department of Environmental Sciences, H.N.B. Garhwal University (A Central University), Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand 246174, India
Introduction Water plays a key performance in the survival of life and various other activities, such as agriculture, aquaculture, electricity generation, industries, drinking, bathing, recreation, etc. Only 3% of water is Freshwater, out of which 2% is locked down in the form of ice caps and glaciers and the remaining 1% accounts for all the available water resources, such as rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, springs, and groundwater. In this very small fraction of freshwater reserve, the whole living creature present on earth depends for their survival. Lakes are termed as the inland aquatic bodies that are considered as the best habitat
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