Quality assessment of drinking water sources in the upper Jhelum basin of Kashmir Himalaya, J&K, India

ABSTRACT Water is the most significant natural resource for all living beings on the planet. The quality of water is considered the main factor linked to the status of health and disease in living organisms, including humans. The present study aims to assess the quality of water in the upper Jhelum basin of the Kashmir Himalayas. A multi-stage sampling technique has been used. To achieve the measured values for quality assessment, a total of 60 water samples were collected from various drinking water sources. The data was analyzed using suitable statistical techniques and relevant methods of water quality assessment. The results were compared with standard norms of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The inferences revealed that most of the sampling sites had either excellent or good water quality, except for the sites encoded as RWS1, RWS4, RWS5, RWS6, RWS13 and RWS14, which depicted poor water quality. The findings revealed that water quality fluctuations are caused by anthropogenic activities such as domestic waste, agriculture and horticulture, as well as natural processes such as weathering and erosion. In general, the inferential statistics revealed that water quality varies from excellent to moderately polluted. Thus, proper purification and timely monitoring of water bodies must be ensured. The purpose of the study is to suggest remedial measures to ease the deterioration and related repercussions in the future.