Groundwater for Sustainable Development 10 (2020) 100364

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Groundwater for Sustainable Development

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/gsd

Research paper

Spring water quality and discharge assessment in the Basantar watershed of

Jammu Himalaya using geographic information system (GIS) and water
quality Index(WQI)
Ajay Kumar Taloor a, *, Rayees Ahmad Pir b, Narsimha Adimalla c, d, Sajid Ali e,
Drinder Singh Manhas a, Sagarika Roy f, Anil Kumar Singh h
a
Department of Remote Sensing and GIS, University of Jammu, Jammu, 180 006, India
b
Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) North Western Himalayan Region, Jammu Govt. of India, Ministry of Water Resources RD & GR, India
c
School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Chang’an University, No. 126 Yanta Road, Xi’an 710054, Shaanxi, China
d
Key Laboratory of Subsurface Hydrology and Ecological Effects in Arid Region of the Ministry of Education, Chang’an University, No. 126 Yanta Road, Xi’an 710054,
Shaanxi, China
e
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany Lucknow, India
f
Earth and Environmental Science Undergraduate Program Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560013, India
h
FarmGuide Gurugram, Haryana 122018, India

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The demand for fresh spring water recently increased due to intensive domestic, industrial irrigation practices
Spring water quality which typically caused depletion of water resources and deterioration of water quality. The spring water quality
Spatial distribution was analyzed for its major hydrochemistry and hydrochemical evolution of the spring water in the study area. A
Spring discharge
total of 60 spring water samples were collected from the three kinds of terrain (mountainous, hilly and plain) and
Basantar watershed
India
analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness (TH), calcium (Ca2þ),
magnesium (Mg2þ), sodium (Naþ), potassium (Kþ), bicarbonate (HCO3 ), sulphate (SO24 ), chloride (Cl ), nitrate
(NO3 ), and fluoride (F ). The water quality of drinking purposes was plotted in the Piper trilinear diagram which
reveals that spring hydrochemistry is dominated by the alkaline earth and weak acids. Gibbs diagram reveals that
the spring water chemistry is primarily controlled by rock-water interaction in the investigated region. The water
quality index (WQI), 45% of samples fall in the excellent category, 50% of spring samples fall in good categories
for drinking purposes. The pH and TDS are within the permissible limit ranges from 7 to 8.4 and 123to 793
respectively. Based on chemical analysis of the various parameters such as non-carbonate hardness, sodium
percentage sodium absorption ratio, residual sodium carbonate were calculated to define the quality of spring
water for irrigation purposes. The discharge of spring water was also calculated during the pre-monsoon season
and found that 70% of samples have discharge more than 20 L per second (Lps).

1. Introduction years due to unscientific and improper use of water which led to acute
shortage of water supply in many parts of India. Due to unavailability or
Water scarcity in many parts of the world has become an unpleasant inadequate quality of surface water, demand for ground water resources
reality. Groundwater seems to be the potential natural resources capable has increased over the years for drinking purposes in the world, espe­
to reverse this situation. Uncovering the spatial patterns of groundwater cially in densely populated area particularly in the Indian sub-continent
occurrence. The water economy of India is under the huge pressure and where two-third of the total population use groundwater for drinking
safe drinking water supply to 1.5 billion people by the end of next purposes (Barakat et al., 2018; Bhat et al., 2019; Chen et al., 2019;
decade is one of the major challenge for the country. Himalayas being Jasrotia et al., 2019a).
endowed with rich river water system may not able to cater the demands Springs is the main source of water for the people in the Himalayas
of water for agriculture, domestic and industrial uses in the coming both urban and rural chunk of large population depends on spring as a

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (A.K. Taloor).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2020.100364
Received 21 October 2019; Received in revised form 13 February 2020; Accepted 3 March 2020
Available online 7 March 2020
2352-801X/© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
A.K. Taloor et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 10 (2020) 100364

Fig. 1. (a) Location map of India, (b) location map of J&K depicting the location of Basantar watershed, (c) Geology map depicting the location of springs.

source of fresh water for the drinking, domestic and agricultural pur­ and permeability of the topsoil, hydrogeomorpholgy slope of the surface
poses and mostly used without prior water treatment in Himalayan and precipitation (Joshi, 2006; Ansari et al., 2015; Haque et al., 2020).
villages (Bartarya, 1991; Bartarya and Valdiya, 1989; Negi and Joshi, Besides the occurrence the management of springs is also a biggest
2004; Jasrotia et al., 2011, 2018; Bartarya and Bahukhandi, 2012). challenge in the hilly regions of Himalaya due to over drafting of the
Himalayas being considered as water tower of the Asia and endowed water by hand pumps and tube wells in the small aquifers and pollution
with adequate rainfall, most part of Himalaya regarded as dry land as far form the anthropogenic activities. The eco-geological labyrinth of
as agriculture is concerned (less than 2% of land is irrigated), and water Himalaya is under the grip of various natural dynamism, anthropogenic
stressed region in terms of accessibility of drinking water to people interventions. Due to climate change and global warming, melting of
(Singh et al., 2017; Adimalla et al., 2020). glaciers, reduced snowfall, more frequent heavy rainfall and widespread
Spring generally is a point at which water flows from an aquifer to flooding has affected the water resources of Himalayas, consequently
the surface of the earth occur where ground surface and the imperme­ springs are widely affected. It is quite evident from the different sources
able rocks intersect with the ground water table. The occurrence mostly that springs are drying up or their discharge is reducing throughout the
depends on rocks recharge characteristics, such as, lithology, porosity Himalayas as it is mainly depending on rainfall pattern in the recharge

2
A.K. Taloor et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 10 (2020) 100364

Table 1
Stratigraphic succession of the study area (after Ranga Rao et al., 1988).
Group Sub Group Formation Lithology Age

Jammu Alluvium ~~~~~~~~ Younger and Older Alluvium Fine to coarse grained sand, silt and clay, Fine to medium grained Recent to Upper
~~~~~~~~~ ~~Unconformity~~~ micaceous sand, silt and clay Coarse sand (cobble, boulder) Silt and Pleistocene
clay in valley fill deposit ~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Siwalik Group Upper Siwalik Boulder Conglomerate Sand, silt and clay dominantly coarse- grained sandstone and pink Pliocene to Middle
Nagrota Formation grey mudstone Pleistocene
Parmandal Formation
Middle Siwalik Medium to coarse-grained sandstones and subordinate grey brown Upper Miocene
mudstone
Lower Siwalik Red mudstone and fine medium- grained grey, green sandstone Middle Miocene
– – –Thrust—————————————— – –
Murree Group Upper Murree Monotonous grey sandstone and grey, brown to yellowish Early Miocene
subordinate, mudstone, siltstone and clay

area and variation in the amount of rain water that is able to in-filtrate In the current study region, 70% residents merely rely on the spring
the ground. The Himalayan ecosystem is quite fragile and susceptible to water for domestic uses, which increase the demand of monitoring of
several changes caused due to natural and man-made problems. It is water quality and discharge of the spring. The major objective of the
quite understood that if crisis persists it will affect livelihoods of millions research is to understand the spring water quality through detail
of people in the Himalayas and particularly in the mountain belts (NITI hydrochemistry in the study area, to determine the various classifica­
Aayog, 2017). tions of water, for drinking and irrigation purposes.
Various researchers around the world and around India have studied
the detail hydrochemistry and spring water quality in various to eval­ 2. Description of study area
uate the major ion chemistry, radon concentration in water, geochem­
ical processes controlling water composition and suitability of water for The study area lies between latitude 32� 30՛ to 33� 55՛ N and longi­
domestic, and drinking purposes (Brindha, and Elango, 2011; Bozau tude 75� 1՛ to 75� 23՛ E and covers a total area of 610 km2. The study
et al., 2013; Fonollosa et al., 2016; Al-Khashman et al., 2017; Barakat region is mostly covering of hilly terrain of Jammu Himalaya. The
et al., 2018; Nnorom et al., 2019; Chen et al., 2019; Adimalla et al., hydrogeomorphology, lithology, and slope play a major role in the
2020). In the recent studies use of GIS technology for spring potential evolution of the various types of drainage pattern in the study area.
mapping has also been well documented in many studies around the Basantar is the major river flowing in the northeast to southwest di­
world (Ozdemir, 2011; Pourtaghi and Pourghasemi, 2014; Guru et al., rection in watershed with Rui and Devak are its tributaries joins at the
2017; Jasik et al., 2017; Rahmati et al., 2018; Jasrotia et al., 2019b; plains of Jammu Himalayas. The study area falls in subtropical to moist
Adimalla and Taloor, 2020). The Basantar watershed is part of the temperate climate with temperature ranges from 2� - 20 � C in winter and
Jammu plains and hilly stretch of Siwaliks in J&K, the scarcity of water 30� - 47 � C in summer and average annual precipitation in the study area
is quite hilly nature of terrain and sloppy surface mostly rain-fed and is 1208 mm (Jasrotia and Kumar 2014a).
lack of proper guidance and management has led to the dying of many Geologically study area is a part of the Siwaliks and Muree Formation
springs. lies in the hilly range of Lesser Himalaya from Early Miocene to Upper

Table 2
Instrumental, titrimetric and calculation methods used for chemical analysis of spring.
Parameters Characteristics Analytical method Reagents Unit Reference

General pH pH/EC/TDS meter pH 4, 7 and 9.2 APHA

(2012)
Electrical Conductivity pH/EC/TDS meter Potassium chloride μS/ APHA
(EC) cm (2012)
Total dissolved solids Calculation EC X (0.55–0.75) mg/L APHA
(TDS) (2012)
Total hardness (as EDTA titrimetric EDTA, ammonia buffer and Eriochrome Black-T (EBT) mg/L APHA
CaCO3) indicator (2012)
Major Calcium (asCa2þ) EDTA titrimetric EDTA, sodium hydroxide and murexide mg/L APHA
cations (2012)
Magnesium (asMg2þ) Calculation MgH ¼ TH-CaH; Mg¼MgH X mg/L APHA
Eq.Wt of Mg X Normality ofEDTA (2012)
Sodium (asNaþ) Flame photometric Sodium chloride (NaCl) and KCl mg/L APHA
(2012)
Potassium (asK ) þ
Flame photometric NaCl and KCl mg/L APHA
(2012)
Major anions Bicarbonates (HCO3 ) Titrimetric Hydrosulfuric acid (H2SO4), phenolphthalein and mg/L APHA
methyl (2012)
orange
Chloride (Cl ) Titrimetric Silver nitrate (AgNO3), potassiumchromate mg/L APHA
(2012)
Fluoride (F ) Fluoride (F ) ISE (Ion selective electrode; TISAB III and NaF mg/L APHA
ThermoOrion) (2012)
Sulphate (SO24 ) UV visible spectrophotometer HCl, ethyl alcohol, NaCl, barium chloride, sodium mg/L APHA
sulphate (2012)
Nitrate (NO3 ) UV visible spectrophotometer Potassium nitrate (KNO3), Phenol disulponic acid, mg/L APHA
ammonia (2012)

3
A.K. Taloor et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 10 (2020) 100364

Pleistocene in age (Ranga Rao et al., 1988). The Siwaliks rocks mainly Table 3
exposed in the study area, except the northernmost part of the study area Relative weight of hydrochemical parameters.
where the Murree Formation of Early Miocene age found as Monotonous Chemical Units BIS Weight Relative weight
grey sandstone and grey, brown to yellowish subordinate, mudstone,
P
parameter (2012) (wi) Wi ¼ wi/ ni¼1 Wi
siltstone and clay (Fig. 1c). The Siwaliks rocks as classified Lower,
pH – 6.5–8.5 3 0.075
Middle and Upper Siwaliks are found in the study area, the Lower TDS mg/L 500 4 0.100
Siwalik composed of red mudstone and fine medium grained grey, green TH mg/L 200 3 0.075
sandstone of Middle Miocene Age (Table 1). The Middle Siwaliks Upper Ca2þ mg/L 200 3 0.075
Miocene Age composed of Medium to coarse-grained sandstones and Mg2þ mg/L 30 3 0.075
Naþ mg/L 200 2 0.050
subordinate grey brown mudstone with coarsening upward in sequence
Kþ mg/L 12 2 0.050
and comparatively softer to Lower Siwaliks. The Upper Siwaliks of F mg/L 1.5 5 0.125
Pliocene to Middle Pleistocene age study area further classified into HCO3 mg/L 120 3 0.075
three formation Parmandal Sandstone, Nagrota Silt, and Boulder SO24 mg/L 200 3 0.075
Conglomerate which exquisitely found in the study area. The Jammu (Cl mg/L 250 4 0.100
NO3 mg/L 45 5 0.125
alluvium is the part of the Indo-Gangetic plains are part of the younger P
wi ¼ 40
P
Wi ¼ 1
and older alluvium deposited plains of study area and mostly act as
recharge cum discharge zone (Jasrotia and Kumar 2014b; Jasrotia et al.,
2019a,b).
parameter for drinking uses. For each of 11 parameters, a weight (wi)
has been assigned according to its relative importance in the overall
3. Data and methodology quality of drinking water, as shown in Table 3. The most significant
parameters have a weight of 5 and the least significant have a weight of
3.1. Sampling and analytical procedures 2. In the study, the maximum weight of 5 has been assigned to total
dissolved solids, nitrate and fluoride, due to their major importance in
Spring samples of 60 locations were collected and analyzed for water quality assessment (Ramakrishnaiah et al., 2009). Then, water
various hydrochemical parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity quality sub-indices (SIi) for each chemical parameter is computed by
(EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness (TH) as CaCO3, calcium equation (3), and the WQI is determined by equation (4):
(Ca2þ), magnesium (Mg2þ), sodium (Naþ), potassium (Kþ), chloride
(Cl ), sulphate (SO24 ), nitrate (NO3 ), fluoride (F ). Environment sen­ SIi ​ ¼ ​ Wi ​ x ​ Qi (3)
sitive index such as pH (hydrogen ion concentration), electrical
conductance (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS) were measured in the X
n
WQi ¼ SIi (4)
field at the time of sample collection using a pH/EC/TDS meter. The i¼1
detail analytical procedure for hydrochemical quality given in Table 2.
Based on the spatial statistical analysis in the GIS, using ARC Map
The location of each spring was taken into the GIS environment, and the
10.5 software. The quality maps of the different cations, anion, pH and
results of each parameter analyzed were added to the concerned wells.
TDS were prepared in the GIS environment using the inverse distance
weighting (IDW, one of the highly used for the random sample data.
3.2. Water quality index
3.3. Irrigation water quality
The water quality index (WQI) was also evaluated to determine the
suitability for drinking purposes (Horton, 1965; Ramakrishnaiah et al., Irrigation water quality was computed by the following as under.
2009; Varol and Davraz, 2015; Saha et al., 2018; Adimalla and Taloor, For the irrigation water quality measurement Sodium absorption
2020). The WQI is a mathematical effectual tool, which provides a ration (SAR), which is a kind of sodium hazard in the use of water for
comprehensive model of the groundwater quality and is used to present irrigation was determined by equation (5) (Karanth, 1987)
large quantities of water quality data into a single number developed by
Horton (1965). WQIs are effective tool to estimate the overall water Naþ
SAR ¼ �pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi �. (5)
quality for drinking purposes by examining individual water quality ðCa2 þ þMg2þ Þ 2
parameters where all calculated cations, anions, pH, EC and TDS were
taken into account to determine the water quality index by using the The concentrations of cations are expressed in meq/L.
three set WQI calculations which includes (a) assignment of weights, The sodium percent in water is another common parameter (Wilcox,
(wi) (based on equation (1)) to each water quality parameter involved; 1955) which is extensively used to evaluate the water for irrigation
(b) calculation of relative weights (Wi) and (c) quality rating scale suitability parameter computed to evaluate the suitability for irrigation
calculation (Qi) (based on equation (2)): computed by equation (6):
,
Naþ þ Kþ
X (6)
n
Na% ¼ ​ � 100
Wi ¼ wi wi (1) Ca2 þ þMg2þ þ Naþ þ Kþ
i¼1
The concentrations of cations are expressed in meq/L.
Ci The concentrations of cations are expressed in meq/L.
Qi ¼ � 100 (2)
Si Besides this, irrigation water can also be classified based on RSC.
When the sum of carbonate and bicarbonate is in excess over the alkaline
where Qi is the quality rating for each chemical parameter i, Ci is the earths chiefly calcium and magnesium, in excess of permissible limits
concentration of each chemical parameter i in each water sample (mg/ affects irrigation adversely according to Eaton (1950) and Richards
L), n is the total number of parameters, and Si is the Indian drinking (1954).
water standard (BIS, 2012) for chemical parameter i. Assigning the
weights for each chemical parameter is the most important part, which RSC ¼ ​ ðCO32 þHCO3 Þ ðCa2 þ þ ​ Mg2 þ Þ ​ meq=L (7)
determines the significance of a water quality parameter for drinking
uses. Assigning the weights for each chemical parameter is the most
important part, which determines the significance of a water quality

4
A.K. Taloor et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 10 (2020) 100364

Table 4
Chemical composition of the spring water quality.
S No. pH EC TDS TA TH Ca2þ Mg2þ Naþ Kþ HCO3 Cl F SO2-4 NO3 Ionic balance WQI

1 7.7 293 153 167 210 47.0 21.0 9.4 1.3 205.0 16.0 0.3 34.0 8.0 1.63 40
2 7.5 520 280 276 280 84.2 16.0 30.0 1.6 334.0 18.5 0.5 27.0 25.0 0.91 58
3 7.7 365 188 183 198 61.2 11.9 10.2 1.4 222.0 15.2 0.2 8.0 13.0 0.65 39
4 7.7 498 258 260 282 88.0 16.0 10.0 4.3 338.0 15.3 0.3 15.8 9.2 1.67 53
5 7.5 292 153 158 200 42.0 25.0 9.4 2.3 195.0 15.2 0.5 37.4 4.2 1.34 41
6 7.8 285 148 133 174 42.6 18.3 11.3 1.4 172.9 7.8 0.2 42.5 8 0.97 36
7 7.5 254 133 118 164 40.6 17.1 10 1.4 154.6 10.9 0.4 37.6 11 1.04 36
8 7.7 742 388 278 384 90.7 40.2 34.8 2.5 349.8 64.6 0.1 34.7 63.9 0.51 78
9 7.7 723 398 353 404 10.5 93.7 34.2 5 441.3 43.3 0.1 38.1 31.4 0.44 87
10 7.7 1523 793 323 529 82.7 60 25 2 404.7 111 0.1 35 12 2.32 107
11 7.7 562 289 163 269 88.7 13.5 22.1 9.2 209.5 18.5 0.1 120 11.6 0.67 50
12 7.9 532 279 278 244 62.6 23.2 25.8 1.4 349.8 11.4 0.1 2.2 4.5 0.09 50
13 7.8 620 320 243 289 88.7 18.3 36.4 6 307.1 64.6 0.2 24.6 13.2 0.51 57
14 7.4 472 247 208 249 22.5 48.7 28.1 3.9 264.4 18.5 0.1 71.5 0.9 0.67 52
15 7.5 543 284 288 259 22.5 51.2 46.5 2.1 362 32.7 0.1 20.2 2.6 0.59 58
16 7.2 712 367 118 224 76.6 9.8 85.8 7.8 154.6 175 0.1 41.1 9.9 0.46 49
17 7.3 582 305 273 289 38.6 48.7 15 5 343.7 25.6 0.2 10.7 2.1 0.67 58
18 7.2 612 315 298 344 108.7 19.5 10.4 16.2 374.2 11.4 0.1 56.5 11.1 0.51 63
19 7.6 333 169 158 214 56.6 19.5 10.7 1.6 203.4 14.9 0.1 44.3 10.5 0.85 40
20 7.7 763 398 328 374 114.7 23.2 42.4 59.6 410.8 64.6 0.1 112 2.1 0.38 90
21 7.6 1075 559 318 564 138.8 54.8 81.2 2.5 398.6 157 0.1 175 21.2 0.28 92
22 8.4 296 154 118 189 38.6 24.4 17.4 2.2 154.6 39.8 0.2 45.1 3.9 0.82 38
23 7.4 465 242 238 249 34.6 41.4 16.4 2.5 301 14.9 0.1 20.5 2.1 0.76 50
24 7.5 280 143 78 184 42.6 20.8 10 1.3 105.8 22 0.1 71.3 22.6 1.13 36
25 7 295 154 93 164 44.6 14.7 15.2 3.9 124.1 25.6 0.1 47 22.9 1.04 36
26 7.6 455 237 233 249 30.6 43.9 17.9 1 294.9 18.5 0.1 22.7 1 0.78 49
27 7.6 240 123 113 154 48.6 9.8 6 1.9 148.5 11.4 0.2 25.6 9.1 1.36 31
28 8.2 240 195 218 214 36.6 31.7 17.8 1.4 276.6 11.4 0.1 8.7 7.2 0.83 45
29 7.7 718 372 353 304 28.6 58.5 62.1 2.1 441.3 43.3 0.1 7.3 17.6 0.55 72
30 7.7 563 294 288 284 30.6 52.4 12 18.3 362 11.4 0.1 17.2 7.4 0.66 66
31 7.7 476 247 223 274 30.6 49.9 24.9 2.7 282.7 29.1 0.4 58.8 0.9 0.51 56
32 7.7 921 476 358 504 66.6 84 41.6 23.5 447.4 85.9 0.1 64 90.9 0.33 116
33 7.6 576 299 313 299 14.5 65.7 28.7 2.2 392.5 14.9 0.4 19.2 5.8 0.43 66
34 7.2 570 297 273 274 22.5 54.8 12.9 2.2 343.7 18.5 0.1 2.2 2.5 0.00 56
35 7.3 358 185 183 239 36.6 37.8 7.6 1.4 233.9 11.4 0.5 43.2 9.6 0.62 49
36 8.2 680 357 308 319 108.7 13.5 39.8 5.2 386.4 7.8 0.1 65.5 24 0.54 64
37 7.7 290 154 138 164 58.6 6.2 7.5 2 179 11.4 0.1 19 4.3 1.14 31
38 7.8 640 331 348 354 112.7 19.5 24.7 6.9 435.2 14.9 0.1 37.5 3.5 0.49 62
39 8 845 440 448 389 84.7 45.1 74 8.7 557.2 32.7 0.1 57.7 1.6 0.40 81
40 7.7 280 149 98 364 46.6 62.1 7.6 1.1 130.2 7.8 0.6 251 7.4 0.40 58
41 7.7 725 367 363 359 74.6 43.9 24.4 1.7 453.5 22 0.5 6.4 9.8 0.40 71
42 7.8 955 497 458 444 95 82 22 2 590 26 0.4 52 15.5 3.03 108
43 7.9 440 227 238 284 40.6 46.3 16.7 2.2 301 11.4 0.1 58.1 3.7 0.66 53
44 7.8 720 367 348 374 60.6 56 39.4 1.3 435.2 18.5 0.1 56.1 28.9 0.44 76
45 8 705 372 348 354 72.6 43.9 35.5 4.6 435.2 36.2 0.1 2 37.7 0.49 75
46 7.7 1305 679 178 189 74.6 3.7 93.3 6.5 227.8 61.1 0.3 17 139.9 1.03 87
47 7.7 385 206 188 199 32.6 30.5 10.4 1.6 240 7.8 0.1 16.1 2.8 0.97 41
48 7.5 685 357 368 404 42.6 74.3 16.3 9.9 459.6 14.9 0.1 51.5 4.8 0.49 78
49 7.8 270 142 148 143 26.5 20.6 8.6 3.3 191.2 7.8 0.1 2.2 2.2 0.50 33
50 7.7 354 185 143 191 24.5 33.5 6.9 2.6 185.1 7.8 0.1 36.1 15.5 0.97 42
51 7.2 512 269 228 206 56.6 17.5 9.9 13.8 288.8 7.8 0.1 2.2 0.9 0.28 47
52 7.6 260 137 123 119 44.6 3.8 14.7 1.6 160.7 11.4 0.2 5.9 3.1 1.25 28
53 7.9 296 156 133 115 26.5 13.6 6.8 43.2 172.9 7.8 0.1 31.7 2.6 1.06 48
54 7.7 233 123 103 124 26.5 15.9 10.8 0.9 136.3 14.9 0.1 11.8 8.5 1.31 29
55 7.8 300 158 93 115 34.6 8.7 25.9 5.1 124.1 25.6 0.1 40.3 0.9 1.15 29
56 7.7 270 141 113 172 32.6 24 9.6 2.4 148.5 18.5 0.1 47.1 3.1 1.09 34
57 7.7 302 161 78 177 40.6 20.3 9.4 2 105.8 7.8 0.1 73.7 35.5 1.08 40
58 7.7 260 137 98 153 30.6 20.5 10 0.9 130.2 18.5 0.1 38.6 7.1 1.27 32
59 7.8 440 227 138 201 26.5 34.6 28.1 1.5 179 36.2 0.1 44 29.2 0.76 48
60 7.5 656 333 310 314 110.5 14.8 41.5 5.3 388.2 8.7 0.3 67.2 26.9 1.26 65

All concentration in mg/l except pH and EC; location of the samples are shown in Fig. 1c; WQI: Water Quality Index.

3.4. Discharge measurement simple and accurate. The discharge measurement of the springs were
also carried out using the container/stopwatch method, where flow (Q)
The discharge of the spring water fluctuates seasonally and mainly can be captured into a container of known volume (V), one of the most
depends on rainfall pattern in the recharge area and variation in the straightforward methodologies for determining discharge is to time (t)
amount of rainwater that is able to in-filtrate the ground. In some the filling of the container and calculate flow using the discharge
studies, we have found that anthropogenic activity affects the spring equation
discharge (Hao et al., 2016) where the measure of concentration
Q ¼ V=t (8)
discharge have also been well documented with arsenic occurrence
(Reyes et al., 2015) We measure the discharge of spring during the
summer (pre-monsoon) at that time the flow was quite low so we use this

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A.K. Taloor et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 10 (2020) 100364

Table 5
Comparison of the quality parameters of spring water of the study area with WHO (1984) and BIS (2012) standard for drinking purpose.
S Water Quality WHO (1984) Maximum BIS (2012)Highest Maximum Concentration in the Undesirable effect
No. parameters unit Highest desirable permissible limit desirable limit permissible limit study area
limit

1 pH 7.0 8.5 6.5 8.5 7–8.4 Cause skin, eye and mucous
membrane irritation
2 TDS (mg/L) 500 1500 500 2000 123–793 Gastrointestinal irritation
3 Calcium (mg/L) 75 200 75 200 10.5–138.8 Scale formation
4 Magnesium (mg/L) 50 150 30 100 3.7–93.7 Diarrhea, abdominal cramping
5 Potassium (mg/L) – 0.9–59.9 Bitter taste
6 Sodium (mg/L) 200 – – 6–93.3 High blood pressure
7 Bicarbonate (mg/L) 105.8–590 Kidney failure internal bleeding
8 Chloride (mg/l) 200 600 250 1000 7.8–175 Salty taste
9 Sulphate (mg/L) 200 400 200 400 2–251 Laxative effect
10 Nitrate (mg/L) 45 45 – 0.9–139.9 Methaemoglobinaemia
11 Fluoride (mg/L) 1 1.5 0.1–0.6 Fluorosis
12 Total Hardness as 100 500 200 600 115–864 Encrustation in water supply and
CaCO3 (meq/L) adverse effect

with 53% fall in the desirable category and 47% fall in the permissible
Table 6 limit. The sodium varies from 6 to 93.3 and potassium varies from 0.9 to
Water classifications on the basis of TDS (Freeze and Cherry, 1979; Davis and
59.9 in the study area. Among the anion bicarbonate is the dominant
DeWiest, 1966) and TH (,b).
element varies from 105 to 590, chloride varies from 7.8 to 175, sul­
Parameters Range Water type/ No. of % of phate varies 2 to 251, nitrate varies 0.9 to 139.9 and fluoride varies from
Classification sample samples
0.1 to 0.6 in the study area.
TH (mg/L) (,b) <75 Soft The Piper trilinear diagram (Piper, 1953) and Gibbs diagram (1970)
75–150 Moderately hard 5 8
were plotted to accentuates the spring water quality. The Piper plot of
150–300 Hard 55 92
>300 Very hard the spring samples falls in the field 1 and 3 which highlights that alkaline
TDS (mg/L) <500 Desirable for 57 95 earth exceeds alkalies, weak acids exceeds strong acids respectively
(Davis and drinking (Fig. 2). The major ion chemistry is dominated major ion chemistry is
DeWiest, dominated by Ca2þ, Mg2þ, HCO3 and SO42_ ions in the spring waters.
1966)
500–1000 Permissible for 3 5
The dissolution of carbonate rocks enriches the water in Ca2þ and Mg2þ
drinking ions. The Ca/Mg molar ratio of spring water indicates the dissolution of
1000–3000 Useful for calcite and dolomite from the geological formation. In the Gibbs ratio
irrigation the relation to three mechanisms i.e. evaporation dominance, rock
Unfit for drinking
>3000
dominance and precipitation dominance controlling water chemistry.
and irrigation
TDS (mg/L) <1000 Fresh 60 100 The Gibb’s ratio Cl /(Cl þ HCO3 ) for anion (Fig. 3a) and ratio
(Freeze and NaþþKþ/(NaþþKþþCa2þ) for cation (Fig. 3b) exhibit that the water is
Cherry, 1979) mainly governed by rock dominance. The carbonate mineral dissolution
1000–10,000 Brackish may be diminished during the travel of groundwater from the recharge
10,000–100000 Saline
>100,000 Brine
areas towards the thicker parts of the aquifer because of the lack of
carbon dioxide.

4.2. GIS based spatial water quality

4. Results and discussions
The GIS is an efficient tool to represent the data spatially ways and
4.1. Assessment of spring water suitability for drinking purposes
widely used by number of researchers around the world in the last four
decades for mapping of the physical and chemical parameters. In the
It is essential to distinguish the quality of spring for drinking and
present study it found that the spatial spring water quality distribution
other domestic purposes. Various water quality parameters and
of physical parameter PH(Fig. 4a) shows that most of the area under the
analytical results are presented in Table 4 and the values are compared
desirable limit except a small patch in the southern part of the study area
with standard values of the Bureau of India Standards (BIS, 2012), as
TDS (Fig. 4b) shows that except a small patch in the hilly area, the TDS is
shown in Table 5. The pH value ranged from 7 to 8.4, with a mean of
under the desirable limit. The spatial distribution of the chemical pa­
7.66 (Table 4). The pH values range between 6.5 and 7.9 indicates the
rameters (Fig. 4c–i) show that most of the area is under the desirable
water is acidic to slightly alkaline in nature. The total dissolved solids
limit except a few pockets which are above the desirable/permissible
(TDS) ranges between 123 and 793 mg/l within the highest desirable
limit.
limit indicate the water is suitable for livestock. ,b) classification, based
on the hardness the spring samples of study area falls under moderately
hard (8%) to hard category (92%) (Table 6). Furthermore, TDS values 4.3. Water quality index (WQI)
were classified according to Freeze and Cherry (1979), as shown in
Table 6, indicating all the spring samples were under fresh water cate­ Groundwater samples (n ¼ 60) and its WQI values are presented in
gory. The classification of (Davis and DeWiest, 1966) indicate that 95% Table 3. Therefore, the groundwater quality status can be categorized
samples are under desirable for drinking water and only 5% are under into five types (Ramakrishnaiah et al., 2009; Adimalla and Taloor, 2020)
the permissible category. The calcium varies from 10.5 to 138.5 with based on WQI values, namely excellent water (<150), good water
73% samples are under the desirable limit and 27% samples fall in the (150–200), poor water (200–250), very poor water (250–300) and water
permissible limit (BIS, 2012). The magnesium varies from 3.7 to 93.7 unsuitable for drinking (>300) (Ramakrishnaiah et al., 2009). The
computed WQI values ranged from 28 to 116 (Table 4). As per the

6
A.K. Taloor et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 10 (2020) 100364

Fig. 2. Geochemical classification of groundwater based on Piper-Trilinear diagram.

classification of WQI 27% of the total spring samples fell under the carbonate (RSC), were chosen to understand the suitability for irrigation
excellent category, and 30% of the spring sample belongs to good water purposes. The surplus amount of sodium concentration in water, leads to
category for drinking purposes. Moreover, 3%of groundwater samples the formation of alkaline soil, and the high salt concentration, which
were found of poor water quality (Table 7). The GIS based spatial results in the development of saline soil. Besides this, dissolved ion such
analysis were performed using kriging-interpolation to determine the as sodium, bicarbonate, and carbonate in irrigation water affects plants
spatial distribution water quality index (WQI) map of the study area growth and reduce productivity of crops. The EC and Naþ concentration
(Fig. 5). The spatial map shows that most of the area falls under the are important in classifying irrigation water. SAR of irrigation water is
excellent to good categories where two small pockets found in the north calculated as an index of sodium hazard and is quantified as the relative
and north west are under the poor category. It is also found that no proportion of sodium (Naþ) to calcium (Caþ 2 ) and magnesium (Mg2 ) ions
þ

sample in the study area falls in the very poor and not suitable drinking in water (Richards, 1954). SAR values ranged from 0.14 to 2.06, with an
water categories. average of 0.52 (Table 9). The salinity hazard parameter (EC) ranged
between 233 and 1523 μS/cm with an average value of 526 μS/cm
(Tables 3 and 8), and both are used in the USSL (1954) diagram (Fig. 6).
4.4. Evaluation of spring water suitability for irrigation purposes The USSL diagram shows that all the samples fall in the low alkali hazard
zone where as the 3 samples (5%) falls under the low salinity hazard, 50
Evaluation of spring water quality is an important and vital for the (83%) samples under the medium salinity hazard and 7 (12%) samples
study area as the southern portion is completed dominated by the fall under the high salinity hazard zone. Sodium concentration reacts
agriculture activities. For the better understanding of the irrigation with soil to reduce or enhance its permeability. Sodium is one of the
water quality the well-established USSL diagram (1954), Sodium ab­ common element found in the water extensively used to evaluate
sorption ratio (SAR), Sodium percentage (Na%) and Residual sodium

7
A.K. Taloor et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 10 (2020) 100364

Fig. 3. (a) Gibbs ratio-I Cl/(Cl þ HCO3) for anion. (b) Gibbs ratio II Na þ K/(Na þ K þ Ca) for cation.

Fig. 4. Spatial distribution of different elements in the GIS environment.

irrigation water suitability. In the present study, the sodium percentage the northern area have 250–750 EC and a small area have a value >
calculated through equation (6) for spring water in the study area, is 2750 (Fig. 8). The value of Na% ranges from 0.002 to 45.93 with a mean
plotted against EC in Wilcox diagram (Fig. 7). The spatial distribution of 16.34. The Wilcox diagram shows that 45 samples (75%) falls under
map of the EC was prepared to know about the spatial distribution and it the excellent category for irrigation use of water and 15 samples (25%)
was found that most of the area under <250 EC, whereas three pocket in falls under the good category of sodium in the irrigation water for

8
A.K. Taloor et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 10 (2020) 100364

Table 7 Table 9
Water quality index value type of water and percentage of sample in the study Groundwater quality based on sodium percentage as per Wilcox diagram.
area (Ramakrishnaiah et al., 2009). S. Remark on Percentage of No. of % of
WQI Range Type of water Samples % No. quality sodium sample sample

<50 Excellent 27 45 1 Excellent <20 45 75

50 to 100 Good 30 50 2 Good 20–40 15 25
100 to 200 Poor 3 5 3 Permissible 40–60
200 to 300 Very poor – – 4 Doubtful 60–80
>300 Not suitable for drinking purposes – – 5 Unsuitable >80

irrigational purposes. The water containing a high concentration of magnesium ions (Richards, 1954). The RSC value classified (Raghunath,
carbonate and bicarbonate ions tends to precipitate calcium and mag­ 1987a) as >1.25 good water type for irrigation, 1.25 to 2.5 doubtful for
nesium as carbonates. As a result, the increase in the relative proportion irrigation,>2.5 unsuitable for irrigation. In the present study, the RSC
of sodium decreases soil permeability. The residual sodium carbonate values varies from 5.29 to 1.19 which shows that all the samples fall
destroys the soil structure, as it restricts water and air movement under the good category.
through the soil. RSC is present in groundwater if the total concentra­
tions of carbonate and bicarbonate ions exceed that of calcium and

Fig. 5. Spatial distribution of water quality index (WQI) in the study area.

Table 8
Classification of groundwater quality for irrigation purpose based on SAR and EC.
Parameters Water type Quality Suitability for irrigation Range No. of % samples in
samples study area

SAR (Richards Low sodium water Excellent Suitable for all types of crops and all types of soils, except for those crops, <10 60 100
1954) which are sensitive to sodium
Medium Sodium Good Suitable for coarse textured or organic soil with good permeability 10–18 –
water
High sodium water Doubtful Harmful for almost all type of soils, requires good drainage, high 18–26 –
leaching gypsum addition
Very high Sodium Unsuitable Unsuitable for irrigation >26 –
water
EC (Wilcox Low salinity water Excellent Suitable for all types of crops and all kinds of soils >250 3 5
1955) (C1)
Medium salinity Good Can be used, if a moderate amount of leaching occurs. Normal salt 250–750 50 83
water (C2) tolerant plants can be grown without much salinity control
High salinity water Doubtful Unsuitable for soil with restricted drainage 750–2250 7 12
(C3)
Very high salinity Unsuitable Unsuitable for irrigation >2250
water (C4)

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A.K. Taloor et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 10 (2020) 100364

Fig. 7. Sodium percentage versus electrical conductivity (after Wilcox, 1955).

piper trilinear diagram Ca2þ–Mg2þ– HCO3- and Ca2þ–Mg2– HCO3 –

SO2-4 type which depicts that the water chemistry is dominated by the
alkaline earth and weak acids. The Gibbs plot shows that total dissolved
solids, point towards rock dominance and suggests congruent dissolu­
tion of carbonate lithology. The high values of HCO3- in spring water
samples illustrate the dissolution of carbonate rocks in the recharge area
Fig. 6. Classification of irrigation water based on salinity hazards due to the acidic precipitation (CO2–rich) and ionic enrichment. The
(USSL, 1954). fluoride is with the desirable limit whereas the nitrate is in the
permissible limit except 3 (5%) samples. The Wilcox diagram revealed
4.5. Spring discharge that most of the spring samples are good (25%) to excellent (75) cate­
gory for irrigation. The US Salinity Laboratory diagram indicates that
Spring discharge is now a day for critical parameter for the suitable 83% of groundwater samples belong to medium salinity (S2) and low
development and management of the springs. High discharge springs are sodium hazards (C3S1), whereas only 12% samples falls under the high
considered as quite valuable and well maintained due to high utility of salinity water which considered as unsuitable for soil with restricted
spring water. It is useful to embed the growing problem of spring water drainage. The water quality index of domestic uses was determined and
depletion within the context of mountain environmental systems, found that 95% of the spring water samples are under excellent to good
including the reference to mountain aquifers. Springs have provided category which means that most of the springs are source of fresh
water to the mountain communities for centuries and the revival of this drinking water where major chunk of the population in the study area is
traditional source of water is extremely important for the region’s sus­ rely for drinking purposes. The spatial water quality index map shows
tainable growth. At the same time, rivers are kept alive throughout the that most of the study area are fall under excellent to good categories
year, particularly in a monsoonal climate, primarily due to discharge and a few pockets have the poor spatial WQI. The depletion of spring is
from groundwater as springs and seeps along their river channels. In the one of the major problems in the Himalayas due to various socio-
present study area based on equation (8) the measurement of discharge economic and political reasons which has arose the need of spring
indicates that 42 springs have discharge more than 20 L per minute discharge measurement and in the study it was found that 70% of the
second (Lps), 10 springs have discharge between 10 and 20 Lps, 5 springs dominated by the sandstone lithology have discharge rate of
springs have discharge between 2 and 10 Lps and 3 springs have <20Lps whereas the spring in the boulder/sandstone area 17% springs
discharge >2 Lps (Table 10). usually have a discharge rate of 10–20 Lps and required a carefully
attention for the revival and rejuvenations of the springs before it comes
5. Conclusion too late. The overall scenario of the spring water in the study area is
chemically potable and suitable for domestic and agricultural uses.
Hydrochemical analysis of the spring water samples exhibit that Ca
and Mg are dominant followed by the Naþ and Kþ among cations. The
bicarbonate is one of the most dominant anion followed by the Cl_ and Declaration of competing interest
NO3_. Analysis of hydrochemical facies reveals two dominant facies on
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial

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A.K. Taloor et al. Groundwater for Sustainable Development 10 (2020) 100364

Fig. 8. Spatial distribution of electric conductivity (EC) in the GIS environment.

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