Water Quality Analysis in relation to biological, hydrogeochemical factors with spring discharge, population, and land use pattern in the Western Himalayan region in India

Abstract Drying of springs, depletion of groundwater resources and the continued decline of groundwater quality is a cause of concern in most parts of the western Himalayas. A significant increase in microbial contamination is the main parameter to deteriorate the water quality of spring water in hilly terrain. This study is based on hydrogeochemical and biological parameters assessment in three blocks, Jaunpur, Chamba, and Thauldhar of the Tehri Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, India. A total of 57 samples of spring water were considered from 46 villages, distributed in three clusters and Water Quality Index (WQI) was calculated for further analysis. The study showed the varying microbial population, and nitrate concentration concerning the land use pattern, spring discharge and rainfall. The factor analysis is applied to identify possible indicators for delineating the domestic and agricultural contaminants in the study area and to understand the spatial distribution of hydrogeochemical factors in the region. Various statistical tools such as ANOVA and Pearson correlation were applied to establish the association of increased spring discharge with nitrate, faecal coliform(FC), total coliform (TC), TDS, Hardness and Alkalinity. The study inferred two main components which are responsible for deteriorating water quality one bio-chemical (consist microbial concentration & nitrate content from manure) and another chemical component (TDS, Hardness, and alkalinity mainly due to rock weathering) and the situation is more enhanced in monsoon season in some study areas and decreased as monsoon subside.