An Assessment of Water Quality of Nainital Springs, Uttarakhand, India

Abstract

Polluted water is wreaking havoc on humans and all other things on the planet. In the mountainous region, spring water is the primary supply of water for survival. The construction of road, settlement and other human activity are continuously increasing in upper catchment area in North West Himalayan region. It’s a real important issue nowadays which are responsible for contamination and extinction of springs. This research aimed to determine the physico-chemical quality of Nainital surrounding springs water. Total eight sampling sites and nine water quality parameters were selected for analysis.  As per findings the mean value of the pH was (6.94), Dissolved Oxygen (2.89 mg/l), Biological Oxygen Demand (0.83 mg/l), Total Dissolved Solid (11.29), Nitrate (0.54 mg/l), Calcium (105.97 mg/l), Manganese (0.07 mg/l), Zinc (0.02 mg/l) and Total Coliform (0.75, /100 ml of water). The spatial distribution map of all spring’s water parameters was composed in ArcMap 10.2 using interpolation, kriging method. The current finding is following the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standard) and WHO (World Health Organization) acceptable and permissible limit. The total coliform concentration was showing contamination at site 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6. So, there is the need to manage, protect and minimize the human interference nearby these natural springs surrounding area to reduce the contamination and degradation of this precious resources by government involvement and local community awareness.