Spatio-temporal patterns and factors controlling the hydrogeochemistry of the river Jhelum basin, Kashmir Himalaya.

River Jhelum is a major source of water for growing population and irrigation in the Kashmir Himalaya. The region is trending towards water scarcity as well as quality deterioration stage due to its highly unregulated development. The existence of few literature on various aspects of the basin prompts us to study the spatio-temporal variability of its physicochemical parameters and thereby to understand the regulating hydrogeochemical mechanisms based on 50 samples collected during high flow (June 2008) and low flow (January 2009) periods. The water chemistry exhibited significant spatial variability reflecting the mixing processes in the basin. The seasonal effect does change the concentration of ions significantly with modest variability in the order of ionic abundance. The Ca(2+) ion among cations and HCO3 (-) ion among anions dominate the ionic budget and correlates significantly with the diverse lithology of the basin. Three major water types, i.e., Ca-Mg-HCO3 (72 %), Ca-HCO3 (12 %), and Mg-Ca-HCO3 (16 %), suggest that the chemical composition of water is dominantly controlled by carbonate lithology, besides a significant contribution from silicates. However, at certain sites, the biological processes and anthropogenic activities play a major role. Relatively, the lower ionic concentration during high flow period (summer season) suggested the significant influence of higher discharge via dilution effect. The higher discharge due to higher rainfall and snow melting in response to rising temperature in this period leads to strong flushing of human and agricultural wastes into the river. The factor analysis also reflected the dominant control of varied lithology and anthropogenic sources on the water quality based on the four significant factors explaining collectively about 70-81 % of the total data variance. A two-member chloride mixing model used to estimate the discharge contribution of tributaries to the main river channel showed reliable results. It may be mentioned that the regular and continuous contamination through anthropogenic sources is likely to jeopardize and degrade the water quality in the near future. Thus, critical management approaches and strategies are very imperative for its future sustainability.