Hydrochemistry and water quality of Rewalsar Lake of Lesser Himalaya, Himachal Pradesh, India

• Published in: Environmental monitoring and assessment Vol. 190; no. 2; pp. 84 - 22
• Main Authors: Gaury, Pawan Kumar, Meena, Narendra Kumar, Mahajan, A. K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-02-2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Alkali metals; Alkaline earth metals; Anions; Anthropogenic factors; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Calcite; Calcium; Carbonates; Cations; Dissolution; Dissolving; Dolomite; Dolostone; Drinking water; Earth; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental monitoring; Environmental science; Halite; Halites; Hydrochemistry; Irrigation; Lakes; Magnesium; Metals; Minerals; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Monsoons; Parameters; Seasons; Silicate minerals; Silicates; Sodium; Sodium carbonate; Water quality; Weathering; Wind; India; Alkaline earth metals; Alkali; Carbonate weathering; Hydrochemistry; Anthropogenic activities
• ISSN: 0167-6369; 1573-2959
• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-017-6451-z

The present research is to study hydrochemistry and water quality of Rewalsar Lake during pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon seasons. The Ca
2+
and Na
+
are observed as the dominant cations from pre- to post-monsoon season. On the other hand, HCO
3
−
and Cl
−
are observed dominant anions during pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons, whereas HCO
3
−
and SO
4
2−
during post-monsoon season. The comparison of alkaline earth metals with alkali metals and total cations (Tz
+
) has specified that the carbonate weathering is the dominant source of major ions in the water of lake.  The HCO
3
−
is noticed to be mainly originated from carbonate/calcareous minerals during monsoon and post-monsoon, but through silicate minerals during pre-monsoon.  The SO
4
2−
in Rewalsar Lake is produced by the dissolution of calcite and dolomite etc. The alkali metals and Cl
−
in the lake can be attributed to the silicate weathering as well as halite dissolution and anthropogenic activities. Certain other parameters like NO
3
−
, NH
4
+
, F
−
, and Br
−
are mainly a result of anthropogenic activities. The alkaline earth metals are found to surpass over alkali metals, whereas weak acid (HCO
3
−
) exceed to strong acid (SO
4
2−
). The Piper diagram has shown Ca
2+
–HCO
3
−
type of water during all the seasons. The water quality index has indicated that the water quality of the lake is unsuitable for drinking from pre- to post-monsoon. Several parameters like salinity index, sodium adsorption ratio, sodium percent, residual sodium carbonate, magnesium hazard etc. have revealed the water of Rewalsar Lake as suitable for irrigation.