Hydrogeochemical Evolution and Quality Assessments of Streams Water in the Bhagirathi Basin, Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand
Hydrogeochemical studies were carried out to assess the quality and evolutions of the streams in the Bhagirathi basin during high and low flow of water in the given environment. The hydrochemical characteristics of the streams water indicated that silicate and mixed type of weathering dominated in the Bhagirathi watersheds. The stream’s water chemistry is mostly influenced by deeper sources of water through joints and fissures in the stream watersheds. A comparison between ion concentrations in the samples suggested that few samples have high sodium and fluoride exceeding the permissible limits. Based on dissolved ions in stream water, the water quality index falls into the excellent/good category (80%), poor quality (14%) and unsuitable class (6%), respectively. Kelly and Permeability index results suggest the impact of rock type on water quality that may affect local agricultural productivity.
APHA (2005). Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. American Public Health Association of Water Works. Environment Federation,USA.
Barnett, T.P., Adam, J.C. and D.P. Lettenmaier (2005). Potential impacts of a warming climate on water availability in snow-dominated regions. Nature, 438: 303-309.
Bruijnzeel, L.A. and C.N. Bremmer (1989). High level- low level inter activities in the Ganges-Brahmaputra river basin: A review of published literature. ICIMOD. Occasional paper No. 11, Kathmandu, Nepal 120.
Doneen, L.D. (1964). Water quality for agriculture. Department of Irrigation, University of California. Davis
48.
Gibbs, R.J. (1970). Mechanism controlling of world water chemistry. Science, 170: 1081-1090.
Hounslow, W. and Arthur (1995). Water quality data – Analysis and interpretation. Lewis Publishers, CRC Press. USA, 416.
ISI (2000). Indian Standard Specification for Drinking Water. IS, 10500. Indian Standard Institute, India.
Kelly, W.P. (1940). Permissible composition and concentration of irrigated waters. In: Proceedings of the A.S.C.F. 607.
Liao, K.H. (2014). From flood control to adaptation: A case study on the lower green river valley and the city of Kent in king country, Washington. Natural Hazards,71: 723-750.
NEERI (2014). Assessment of water quality and sediment to understand the special properties of river Ganga.
Pandey, S.K., Singh, A.K. and S.I. Hasnain (1999). Weathering and geochemical processes are controlling solute acquisition in Ganga headwater – Bhagirathi river, Garhwal Himalaya, India. Aquatic Geochemistry, 5: 357-
379.
Piper, A.M. (1994). A graphic procedure in the geochemical interpretation of water analysis. Transaction of the American Geophysical Union, 25: 914-923.
Richards, L.A. (1954). Diagnosis and improvement of saline and alkali soils. US Department of Agriculture Handbook, No. 60, 160.
Schoeller, H. (1977). Geochemistry of groundwater. In: Groundwater studies – An international guide for research and practice. UNESCO, Paris, 15: 1-18.
Semwal, N. and P. Akolkar (2006). Hydro-biological assessment of water quality of river Bhagirathi with reference to hydroelectric projects in Uttaranchal (India). Research Journal of Chemistry & Environment, 10: 54-63.
Soltan, M.E. (1999). Evaluation of groundwater quality in Dakhla Oasis (Egyptian Western Desert). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 57: 157-168.
Szabolcs, I. and C. Darab (1964). The influence of irrigation water of high sodium carbonate content of soils. In: Proceedings of 8th International Congress of ISSS, Trans,2: 802-812.
Walling, D.E. and P.W. Moorehead (1989). The particle size characteristics of fluvial suspended sediment: An overview. Hydrobiologia, 176: 125-149.
Wilcox, L.V. (1955). Classification and use of irrigation water. US Department of Agriculture, Washington. Circular No.969, 19.
Yao, T., Thompson, L., Yang, W., Yu, W., Gao, Y., Guo, X., Yang, X., Duan, K., Zhao, H. and B. Xu (2012). Different glacier status with atmospheric circulations in Tibetan Plateau and surroundings. Natural Climate Change, 2: 663-667.
Zhang, F., Yeh, G.T., Parker, J.C., Zhang, H., Shi, X., Wang, C. and R. Gu (2012). A reaction-based river/stream water quality model: Reaction network decomposition and model application. Terrestrial Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences,23: 605-620.
Zhang, Q., Xu, C., Becker, S. and T. Jiang (2006). Sediment and runoff changes in the Yangtze river basin during past 50 years. Journal of Hydrology, 331: 511-523.