Hydrogeochemical Assessment of River Jhelum and its Tributaries for Domestic and Irrigation Purposes, Kashmir Valley, India

Fifty water samples were collected during high flow (June 2008) and low flow (January 2009) periods from River Jhelum and its tributaries located in Kashmir valley, Western Himalaya, to carry out hydrogeochemical assessment for domestic, livestock and irrigation purposes. The high flow period represents the summer season, and the low flow period represents the winter season. In general, water was alkaline in nature. Ca²⁺ among the cationic budget, and HCO^-₃ among the anionic budget, dominate the chemical quality of water. The higher annual average discharge (~1124.6 m³/s) during high flow period resulted in lower ionic concentration in water through the effect of dilution than during the lower annual average discharge of ~406.4 m³/s during low flow period. The water classification suggested the water to be of fresh category (100%<1000 mg/l TDS), which is therefore desirable for drinking purposes. Moreover, the mean values of major ions were within the permissible limits of WHO and ISI standards, suggesting that the water is suitable for domestic and livestock purposes. For irrigational practices, the calculated indices show that the water is of 'excellent to good quality'.