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Hydrogeochemical characteristics and water quality assessment in the lake

Satopanth Tal, India

Article in International Journal of Energy and Water Resources · October 2021

DOI: 10.1007/s42108-021-00153-1

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International Journal of Energy and Water Resources
https://doi.org/10.1007/s42108-021-00153-1

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Hydrogeochemical characteristics and water quality assessment

in the lake Satopanth Tal, India
Das Subhrajit1 · Vasudevan Sivaprakasam1 · Selvaganapathi Rajendiran1

Received: 26 July 2021 / Accepted: 8 October 2021

© Islamic Azad University (IAU) 2021

Abstract
The current study examines physicochemical parameters and the water quality index and spatial interpolation analysis of
water samples collected from the sacred, emerald green snow-fed lakes of Satopanth Tal in Uttarakhand, India. It is near
Badrinath, a Hindu pilgrimage site, at an elevation of 4600 m above sea level. The lake is covered with snow between the
end of October and May. This is a glacial corrie moraine-dammed lake having a maximum depth of 17.5 m. To determine the
suitability of the water for various purposes, thirteen physicochemical parameters were assessed and the water quality was
determined. The spatial distribution of the physicochemical parameters throughout the lake was studied using the ArcGIS
interpolation tool. The physicochemical parameters and water quality index values showed that the lake's water quality is
excellent for domestic purposes based on World Health Organization/Bureau of Indian Standards drinking water standards.
The Piper and Johnson plots revealed that the dominance of carbonate weathering contributed major ions to the lake. The
sodium adsorption ratio, soluble sodium percentage, magnesium hazard, residual sodium concentration used to evaluating
the irrigation water quality index indicated all water samples were good and can be used for irrigation. The lake has so far
remained relatively unpolluted. This study will provide more information for future research and long-term management of
the sacred lakes by taking corrective action and drafting a development plan.

Keywords Satopanth Tal · Spatial analysis · Hydrogeochemistry · Water quality index

Introduction aspects for the settlement of humans and their habitation.

The investigational research of hydrogeochemistry is indis-
pensable to decide the genesis of the chemical constitution
of groundwater as well as surface water (Vasu et al., 2017).
This will also help us to estimate the erosion rate, the geo-
chemical changes of that particular region. Determination of
physicochemical characteristics and water quality index is
very much essential for assessing its suitability for several
purposes such as drinking, domestic, irrigation, and indus-
trial uses (Khadka & Ramanathan, 2021; Reyes-Toscano
et al., 2020). Water quality is not only dependent on nat-
ural processes such as precipitation, weathering, etc., but
anthropogenic influences from industrial, rural, and urban
activities (Papatheodorou et al., 2006). Lakes provide mul-
tiple uses such as drinking, irrigation, agriculture, and other
* Vasudevan Sivaprakasam
devansiva@gmail.com
1
Department of Earth Sciences, Annamalai University,
Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India
Lakes can store water and play a significant role in ground-
water recharge and also take part in the evaporation process
in a hydrological cycle.
High altitudes lakes are impacted by atmospheric inputs
than lowland lakes due to different components like environ-
ment, shallow soil, little watershed, and so on (Rosha et al.,
2012). Lakes are one of the most important ecosystems in
the world and also the most sensitive systems to environ-
mental pollutions and anthropogenic impacts (Forghani
et al., 2009). The chemistry of surface water is altered by
materials through which they pass (Vasudevan et al., 2013).
The surface inflows, precipitation, and rock weathering of
its catchment area (Hem, 1985) and climatic changes and
human activities (Steingruber et al., 2021; Wang & Dou,
1998) are the typical factors on which the lake hydrogeo-
chemistry depends upon. When precipitation occurs rain-
water directly enters into the soil zones where the materials
present in the soil dissolve in the water and as the water flow
from recharge point to discharge point the water quality is
affected by several geochemical processes (Li et al., 2014).

13
Vol.:(0123456789)

Several studies on lakes have been conducted in various
locations of the Indian subcontinent. Duan et al. (2016) stud-
ied the water quality of Eastern Poyang Lake Basin using
Multivariate Statistical Methods. Wu et al. (2017) assessed
the water quality of Poyang Lake in China; Wu et al. (2018)
used the water quality index to assess the water quality of
the Lake Taihu Basin in China; Duan et al. (2018) investi-
gated the water quality of the Yangtze River basin in China.
A number of water quality studies have been carried out in
the Himalayan lakes in the past (Deep et al., 2020; Kumar
& Sharma, 2019; Sharma & Kumar, 2017; Sharma et al.,
2021). Sharma and Kumar (2017) investigated only the water
quality of Satopanth Tal, hence, this study on Satopanth Tal
water samples from the Garhwal Himalayan region, Utta-
rakhand, India in October 2015 was aim at expanding the
investigation by including hydrogeochemical aspect using
Geographical Information System (GIS) and water quality
index (WQI) for drinking and irrigation purposes.
Study area
Satopanth Tal is a glacial lake situated in the Himalayan
region, originated by melted glaciers. It is formed when a
glacier erodes the land, fills the hole or space that it has
created with the meltwater. The study area is surrounded
by the glacier which is known as Satopanth Glacier and
bounded by the Nilkantha Peak and the Chaukhamba
Parbat in the south-eastern and western directions of the
Satopanth Tal, respectively. The Satopanth Tal falls within
the latitude 30°44′38.30″ N to 30°44′38.59″ N and longi-
tude 79°21′27.03″ E to 79°21′21.74″ E (Fig. 1) covering
an overall area of 0.025 ­km2. is situated 25 km away from
Badrinath in Uttarakhand, India. The lake is situated amidst
snow-covered tops at an altitude of 4600 m above mean sea
level. The maximum depth of the lake has been estimated
to be 17.5 m and the volume of Satopanth Tal is calculated
to be 18.918 Acre m. The lake is usually covered by snow
between the end of September and the end of June each year.
The temperature in summer is around 12 °C in the day and 5
to −5 °C during the night, while in winter, the temperature
drops to −25 °C in the day and −35 °C during the night.
According to the locals, it is claimed that the Trimurthis
(triple deity of divinity in Hinduism), Brahma, Vishnu, and
Maheswara meditated on its three corners, making it a holy
site for the inhabitants. And Pandavas traveled from Mana
village via Satopanth Tal to reach the path to paradise on
the Swargarohini glacier mass especially towards the end
of the Mahabharata. Hence, the lake has some religious sig-
nificance to the local people and they throw the ashes of the
dead into the lake for the liberation of their souls. So, any
type of anthropogenic activity within the lake is prohibited.
Therefore, all the water samples were collected by taking
13
International Journal of Energy and Water Resources
utmost care, so that this very clear and pristine lake is not
contaminated by these study activities.
Materials and methods
Sampling and laboratory procedures
Water samples (500 ml) were collected during the postmon-
soon season in 21 locations spread out in Satopanth Tal in
polypropylene bottles. The water samples were collected at
a depth of 20–30 cm below in the near shore region and at
a little deeper depth in the central region by the use of an
inflatable boat.Some physicochemical parameters including
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), potential hydrogen (pH), elec-
trical conductivity (EC), and major ions including sodium
­(Na+), potassium (­ K+), calcium ­(Ca2+), magnesium (­ Mg2+),
sulphate ­(SO42–), phosphate(PO42–) chloride ­(Cl–), carbonate
­(CO32–), bicarbonate (­ HCO3–) and dissolved silica (­ H4SiO4)
were analyzed. The flame photometer (CL-378), UV spec-
trophotometer (UV-1800), and titrimetric methods were used
in the analysis while multi-parameter meter Hanna instru-
ment (HI98194) was used for in situ determination of pH,
electrical conductivity (EC), and Total Dissolved Solids
(TDS) according to the standard methods by APHA (2012).
The results were sorted for water chemistry using Aquachem
software (Version 5.1) to generate several plots such as Piper
trilinear plots. Different indices such as TH, Na%, Mg%,
RSC, CR, Kelley’s Ratio, SAR, PI, were calculated. ArcGIS
software (10.4) was used to locate the sampling locations
and determine the spatial distribution pattern of the phys-
icochemical parameters in the lake.
Statistical and geostatistical investigation
Cluster analysis is a statistical technique that classifies sam-
ples based on the data set's intrinsic structure and funda-
mental relationships (Sajil Kumar, 2020), and was applied
as a complementary tool to describe lake water quality
deterioration and focus on the main components of the
lake. In this method, the multivariate resemblances in the
hydrochemical data are identified using a squared Euclidean
distance. Ward’s method, which uses the analysis of vari-
ance approach (ANOVA) to analyze the distances between
clusters, is the most widely utilized tool (Sajil Kumar, 2020).
When there is a huge data set of varied characteristics to
analyze, this method has been employed in several types
of research as an efficient data analysis tool. Hence, in this
study, Ward’s method with squared Euclidean distance
interval has been chosen along with the Pearson correlation
matrix for the study of hydrogeochemical parameters by the
software package SPSS.
International Journal of Energy and Water Resources
Fig. 1  Study Area and Sample Location map for Satopanth Tal, Chamoli, Uttarakhand exhibiting 21 water samples location points
Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW), spline, and kriging
are three common interpolation methods for modeling spa-
tial distribution from point data. The IDW is a straightfor-
ward deterministic interpolation method based on the idea
that sample values closer to the forecast location have a
greater influence on the prediction value than sample val-
ues further away (Mallick, 2017). Kriging is a linear unbi-
ased interpolation method because prediction estimates are
less prone to mean standard errors. This method does not
require where data is regularly distributed, and it only con-
siders the nearby points of estimation data when assessing
the structure of regionalized variables (Karami et al., 2018).
Hence, the inverse distance weighting (IDW) interpolation
approach was used in this study. This method calculates the
surrounding point within the user-defined boundary to esti-
mate a value for each cell (Gnanachandrasamy et al., 2020).
Water quality estimation
Drinking suitability
Horton (1965) has proposed the term water quality index,
which has been further modified and developed by Brown
et al. (1970). Brown et al. (1970) has given assigned weights
to the physicochemical parameters’ as indicated by their
13
 International Journal of Energy and Water Resources

general significance in the water quality for drinking pur- Organization (2011) recommendation as given in Eq. (2) and
poses. In this investigation, WQI has been determined by multiplied the results by 100.
the accompanying 12 physicochemical parameters (n = 12).
Initially, the weights (wi) need to be assigned to each of
Qi = (Ci∕Si) × 100 (2)
the parameters based on their relative importance in drink- Lastly, the WQI values were calculated by utilizing
ing purposes where the highest assigned weight denotes the Eq. (3); indicating the quality of water for drinking purposes
most significant role and vice versa. Each of the 12 param- and are classified into five categories (< 50 is for excellent
eters has been assigned a weight (wi) ranging from 1 to 4 water, 50–100 is for good water, 100–200 is for poor water,
depending on the collective expert opinions taken from dif- 200–300 is for very poor water, and if more than 300, infers
ferent previous studies (Al obaidy et al., 2010; Shah & Joshi, water unsuitable for drinking purposes) according to Sahu
2017). These lowest values indicate the insignificant role of and Sikdar (2008); suggesting the suitability and inadequacy
the parameters as per drinking suitability (Table 1). of drinking water.
The formula adopted to calculate the relative weight (Wi)
n
is in Eq. (1) ∑
Wi = wi × qi (3)
n i=1
∑
Wi = wi∕ wi (1)
i=1

Then to compute the quality rating scale (Qi) for indi- Irrigation suitability
vidual parameters, division of the concentration of indi-
vidual parameter (Ci) in mg/L with its respective drinking Several irrigation suitability indices such as sodium absorp-
water quality standards (Si) according to the World Health tion ratio (SAR), permeability index (PI), sodium percentage
(Na %), magnesium hazard (MH) or magnesium absorption
ratio (MAR), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), Kelly’s
Table 1  Relative weight of chemical parameters Ratio (KR), etc., was used to evaluate the quality of water
Physico-chemical Weight (wi) Relative weight WHO/BIS
and its suitability for irrigation purposes (Table 2). Johnson
parameters (Wi) (1975) modified the Piper diagram trilinear diagram and it
assists with considering the progressions in hydrogeochemi-
pH 4 0.25 8.5 cal phases of water in the study region. In the modified Piper
EC 1 0.06 250
diamond plot, all the three components of the Piper trilinear
TDS 1 0.06 500
plot were constructed individually in rectangular coordinates
Ca2+ 1 0.06 75
to generate a pattern similar to the Piper plot.
Mg2+ 1 0.06 50
Na+ 1 0.06 200
K+ 1 0.06 12
Ion exchange estimation
SO42− 1 0.06 250
Cl− 1 0.06 250
To differentiate the ion exchange between groundwater and
HCO3− 1 0.06 120
its host rock-water interaction environment during resi-
H4SiO4 1 0.06 –
dence or sub-surface movement, Schoeller (1977) proposed
PO42− 2 0.13 –
chloro-alkaline indices (CAI-1 and CAI-2). The following
Total 16 1.00
two equations calculate them;

Table 2  Irrigation suitability Indices Formula Sources

indices by several researchers
SAR √1 Na+ Richards (1954)
2
(Ca2+ +Mg2+ )

PI% [(Na+ + √HCO3−) / ­Ca2+ + ­Mg2+ + ­Na+)] × 100 Doneen (1964)

Na % [(Na+ + ­K+) / ­(Ca2+ + ­Mg2+ + ­Na+ + ­K+)] × 100 Wilcox (1948)
MH [Mg2+ / ­(Ca2+ + ­Mg2+)] × 100 Paliwal (1972)
KR Na+/ ­(Ca2+ + ­Mg2+) Kelley (1963)
RSC (HCO3− + ­CO32–) − ­(Ca2+ + ­Mg2+) Eaton (1950)

Here all the ionic concentrations given above are in are expressed in (meq/L) for all equations

13
International Journal of Energy and Water Resources

CAI 1 = Cl− − Na+ + K+ ∕Cl− (4)

[ ( )]

PO42 (mg/l)

8.9
11.1
9.6
0.5
CAI 2 = Cl− − Na+ + K+ ∕SO2− + HCO−3 + CO2− + NO−3
[ ( )]
4 3
(5)

H4SiO (mg/l)
Nutrients

15.8
1.9

5.1
Results and discussion

3
HCO3 (mg/l)
Statistical analysis of lake water quality parameters

47.6
37.0
Correlation analysis

7.1
22
Cl (mg/l)
The statistical analysis results of various physicochemi-
cal parameters of water that were analyzed are given in

48.1
95.0
61.9
9.7
Table 3. The dominance of major cations is in the order of
­Ca2+ > ­Mg2+ > ­Na+ > ­K+, whereas the dominance of anions

SO42 (mg/l)
is in the order ­Cl− > ­HCO3− > ­SO42−, and for nutrients,

Anions
the order of dominance is ­PO42− > ­H4SiO4.

17.5
22.0
19.1
1.1
Pearson correlation matrix was used to examine
the relationship between the various ions in the water

K (mg/l)
(Table 4). Among the cations, ­Ca2+ and ­Mg2+ showed a
very good positive correlation (r) value of 0.93, whereas

1.1
1.9
1.4
0.2
+
a good correlation (r) value of 0.53 between N ­ a+ and ­K+
2− +
was established. ­PO4 and ­Na have a positive correla-

Na (mg/l)
tion of 0.73, and good positive correlations of 0.67 and
0.79 occurred between C ­ l– and ­Mg2+, as well as C ­ l– and
+

1.1
3.7
2.1
0.7
–
­HCO3 respectively. Strong correlation between EC and
TDS (r = 0.88), ­PO42−, and ­Na+ (r = 0.73) were discovered, (mg/l)
implying that dissolved solids, N­ a+, and P­ O42− all contrib-
Table 3  Major ionic concentration of physico-chemical parameters of Satopanth Tal
Chemical parameters

ute to the electrical conductivity of lake water. A strong

2+

19.2
11.7
Mg

3.5

correlation between S ­ O42− and C ­ a2+ (r = 0.84) and M ­ g2+

4
2−
and ­SO4 (r = 0.81) suggests that they have similar origins
(mg/l)

as oxidation of pyrite and sulphate minerals at the transi-

Cations

tion zone between aerobic and anaerobic environments.

2+

32.9
7.2
Ca

20
52
TH (mg/l)

Cluster analysis
20.9
24.8
21.2
3.8

Thirteen variables were considered for cluster analysis

and the variables were classified into three major clusters
TDS (mg/l)

based on this dendrogram (Fig. 2). ­M g 2+, TDS, P ­ O 42−,

+ +
pH, ­H4SiO4, ­K and ­Na are all closely related in the first
7.3
20.4
11.9
3.5

cluster group, whereas the second and third cluster groups

show the relationship between S ­ O42−, EC, ­Ca2+, ­HCO3–,
Physical parameters

EC (µs/cm)

–
­Cl and TH in the surface water samples. The key sources
that identify the hydrogeochemistry of the study site are
14.0
42.2
21.6

numerous hydrogeological processes such as ion exchange

7

and weathering. Finally, cluster analyses confirm the find-

6.4
7.1
6.9
0.2
pH

ings and provide more confidence in data analysis.

Mean
Max
Min

SD

13
 International Journal of Energy and Water Resources

Table 4  Pearson correlation Ca2+ Mg2+ Na+ K+ Cl− HCO3− PO42− SO42− H4SiO4 pH EC TDS
matrix of physico-chemical
parameters of water samples Ca2+
1
Mg2+ 0.93 1
Na+ − 0.25 0.20 1
K+ − 0.04 0.04 0.53 1
Cl− 0.15 0.67 0.17 0.07 1
HCO3− 0.86 0.09 − 0.16 0.25 0.79 1
PO42− − 0.35 0.11 0.73 − 0.19 0.00 − 0.39 1
SO42− 0.84 0.81 0.03 − 0.06 − 0.20 − 0.18 0.13 1
H4SiO4 0.26 − 0.23 − 0.03 − 0.18 − 0.10 − 0.07 − 0.23 0.26 1
pH 0.18 − 0.17 − 0.18 − 0.09 0.03 − 0.01 − 0.41 − 0.06 0.20 1
EC − 0.05 − 0.13 0.30 − 0.20 − 0.15 − 0.29 0.45 0.18 − 0.09 − 0.10 1
TDS 0.12 − 0.23 0.12 − 0.21 − 0.15 − 0.18 0.19 0.30 0.29 0.16 0.88 1

Correlation significant at 0.01

Fig.2  Dendrogram showing the

groundwater clusters (Ward’s
method)

Study of physicochemical characteristics is typically employed to obtain continuous information

and geospatial analysis of water samples
The results of the physicochemical and nutrient parameters
were compared with WHO (2011) and BIS (2012) have
been carried out for the present study (Table 3). Spatial
and temporal are evident in all types of physical and chem-
ical parameters of freshwater systems (Chandrasekhar
et al., 2003). When point data information is available at
several sample points, the spatial interpolation technique
(Mallick, 2017). The profiles of spatial variation for each
resource are discussed below in terms of their relation-
ship with each other and their change in concentration
over space. ArcGIS-based spatial distribution of hydro-
geochemical parameters is presented in Fig. 3.
The pH of the study area ranged from 6.4 to 7.1 with a
mean of 6.88 (Table 3). Most of the samples collected from
the edges of the lake have pH value below 7 while five sam-
ples out of the nine samples collected from the central part
of the lake had pH value slightly higher than 7; indicating

13
International Journal of Energy and Water Resources

Fig. 3  Interpolated maps of the parameters based on inverse distance weighting

that the water of Satopanth Tal is acidic in the nearshore
region and slightly alkaline in the central region. The spatial
distribution of pH of the surface water in Satopanth Tal is
shown in Fig. 3. The spatial distribution of pH in the study
area indicated a larger region with lower to moderate pH,
while the higher pH values were recorded in the majority
of the southern and western regions, respectively; making
the water of the Satopanth Tal acidic to slightly alkaline.
Electrical conductivity (EC) is a quantification of the total
salt content of water, based on the flow of electrical current

13

through the sample. The EC of the Satopanth Tal ranged
from 14 to 42.2 µS/cm with a mean of 21.02 µS/cm, sug-
gesting a low mineral dissolution in the surface water. The
EC of the lake is enriched at the northernmost region of the
lake and has a little increase around the middle of the lake.
It can also be visualized that all the points near to shoreline
except in the north and a small region in the west recorded
lower values; the elevated values in the northern region of
the lake could be attributed to the impact of Satopanth Gla-
cier on the lake (Fig. 3). The Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
is the sum of the dissolved ionic concentration of organic
and inorganic matter in the lake water. The TDS ranged from
7.3 to 20.4 mg/L with a mean of 11.75 mg/L; indicating
freshwater. The spatial variation of TDS is as expected and
showing a similar trend as electrical conductivity. Locations
near the northern region have a greater amount of TDS in
comparison to other regions of the lake (Fig. 3). The Total
Hardness (TH) varied from 20.9 to 24.8 mg/L with a mean
of 21.2 mg/L; indicating softwater. Classification of total
hardness is as follows: soft (0–30), moderately soft (30–60),
moderately hard (60–120), hard (120–180), and very hard
(> 180) (World Health Organization, 2011). The presence of
cations such as M­ g2+, ­Ca2+, ­Na+, and anions such as bicar-
–
bonate, ­Cl , and ­SO42– in water causes water hardness.
The major cations showed the lower content of sodium,
calcium, magnesium, and potassium in the lake water, which
mainly comes from rock weathering. ­Ca2+ value ranged
between 20 and 52.0 mg/L (mean = 32.9 mg/L) while ­Mg2+
ranged between 3.5 and 19.2 mg/L (mean = 11.7 mg/L). Cal-
cium and magnesium are most abundant in surface water as
they are associated with sedimentary deposits. Calcium sul-
phate can be dissolved in water to a concentration of around
1500 ppm at room temperature (Merdhah & Yassin, 2008).
The weathering of calcic plagioclase feldspar from sandstone
and alluvial rocks is confirmed by calcium ion concentra-
tion in surface water. The spatial distribution of C­ a2+ is pre-
sented in Fig. 3; in the southern section, a maximum C ­ a2+ of
52 mg/L was observed, with a lower value of 20 mg/L near
the middle region, and an average of 32.9 mg/L of Satopanth
Tal. Magnesium is derived mostly through the dissolution
of minerals found in silicates and feldspathic rocks (Hem,
1970). Magnesium dissolution is substantially slower, and
contact time between water and rock is much longer. Fig-
ure 3 depicts the spatial distribution of ­Mg2+, which showed
that magnesium concentrations are considerably lower in the
southern and northern parts of the lake, and substantially
higher in the south-western and around the center. The N ­ a+
+
and ­K ranged from 1.1 to 3.7 mg/L (mean = 2.1 mg/l) and
1.1 to 1.9 mg/L (mean = 1.4 mg/L), respectively (Table 3).
The spatial distributional pattern of the ­Na+ ion in Satopanth
Tal showed that higher concentrations were found in the
northern and north-eastern, while lower concentrations were
found in other regions, implying that the concentration of
13
International Journal of Energy and Water Resources
­ a+ is increasing across the lake from west to east (Fig. 3).
N
The spatial distribution of potassium content in surface
water from the Satopanth Tal revealed the concentration of
­K+ was recorded in the northern and central-western regions
of the Satopanth Tal, while the lowest values are found in the
southern and western parts.
The major anions showed that C ­ l – ranged from
48.1 to 95.1 mg/L (mean = 60.96 mg/L), fol-
lowed by ­H CO 3– ranging from 22.0 to 47.6 mg/L
(mean = 37.18 mg/L). The chloride ions are not absorbed
into the mineral or inorganic surface and do not form
insoluble precipitates (Embaby et al., 2016). The spatial
distribution of chloride concentration is shown in Fig. 3.
The spatial plot of C­ l– ion in the lake suggests that there is
a higher concentration in the south-western region (sample
17) and lowest in the northern and western region (sam-
ples 10 and 18) of the lake. At the eastern, southern, and
western shores, the value of ­HCO3– is abundant. The pres-
ence of bicarbonate and acidity in lake water is mainly by
the physical process of lacustrine deposit, although bicar-
bonates are derived largely from gaseous ­CO 2 (Pandey
et al., 2001). The ­HCO3– is derived mainly from (a) the
­CO2 soil zone in the subsurface environment containing
elevated ­CO2 pressure which in turn combines with water
to form bicarbonate and (b) the dissolution of carbonates
and/or silicate minerals by carbonic acid (Pandey et al.,
2001). The southwestern section of the lake has a low to
moderate concentration of H ­ CO3–, whereas the south-east-
ern and western parts of the lake have a high concentration
of ­HCO3– (Fig. 3). Weathering of sulphide minerals such
as pyrite, marcasite, and others produces sulphate. The
­SO42– concentration varying between 17.5 and 22 mg/L
(mean = 19.04 mg/L). The concentration fluctuation of
­SO42– ions is depicted in Fig. 3. When comparing the east-
ern and western parts of the lake, the spatial distribution
reveals that the eastern part has a higher concentration of
­SO42–. Generally, sulphate concentrations in Satopanth Tal
increased from the western to the eastern regions.
Phosphorous is widely recognized as one of the most
important nutrients in freshwater productivity, as it is a cru-
cial component in determining the fertility of lakes (Kumar
& Sharma, 2019). The phosphate ­(PO42–) varied between
8.9 and 11.1 mg/L (mean = 9.58 mg/L). The concentra-
tions of phosphate ions were increasing in the lake's north-
ern, eastern, and south-eastern areas (Fig. 3). The primary
source of silica in water is silicate minerals. Because silica is
derived primarily from naturally occurring rocks, freshwater
has higher silica concentrations (Pradeep et al., 2016). The
silica ­(H4SiO4) concentration ranged from 1.9 to 15.8 mg/L
(mean = 5.1 mg/L). Figure 3 illustrates the spatial distribu-
tional pattern of H
­ 4SiO4, which showed that the central and
southern areas of Satopanth Tal had the highest concentra-
tion of dissolved silicates compared to the rest of the lake.
International Journal of Energy and Water Resources

Water quality and utility
Suitability of water for drinking purposes
The water quality index (WQI) is a helpful tool for deter-
mining the suitability of water quality for drinking purposes
(Magesh et al., 2013; Kouadra and Demdoum, 2019). The
WQI values inferred that the water stored in the Satopanth
Tal is of excellent quality (Table 5), as 100% of the water
samples were grouped under the class of excellent water as
proposed by Sahu and Sikdar (2008).
Suitability of water for agricultural activities
Water is an essential tool for irrigation work and its quality
altogether influences crop yields. The suitability of surface
water for irrigational purposes depends on the concentra-
tions and impact of the mineral constituents in the water
on both soil and the plants (Tyagi et al., 2009). It is the
geology; geomorphology and watershed activities that affect
the nature of the source water (Ghislain, 2012). In this pre-
sent study, electrical conductivity (EC), sodium adsorption
ratio (SAR), sodium percentage (Na%), magnesium hazard
(MH), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), Permeability Index
(PI), Kelly’s ratio (KR), US Salinity and Wilcox Diagrams
were utilized as indicators of water suitability for irrigation
(Table 5).
Electrical conductivity (EC) is one of the criterions that
are required for assessing the nature of water for irrigation
purposes. Ayers and Westcot (1989) classified the water
quality for irrigation uses into five categories following the
guidelines of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO,
1989), tabulated in Table 6. The water samples collected
from Satopanth Tal are excellent for irrigation purposes as
they recorded very low values clustered in excellent class.
The SAR value is the sodium content that exists in the soil
after absorption (Shaikh et al., 2020). Higher the SAR val-
ues, higher the sodium concentration and lower the soil
porosity, and less suitable for agriculture. SAR has divided
the irrigation water into four classes, as shown in Table 6.
The SAR values in the lake water varied from 0.04 to 0.16,
with a mean value of 0.08, which is considered good for irri-
gation. The US Salinity Laboratory’s diagram (USSL, 1954)
is broadly utilized for assessing the water’s suitableness for
the irrigational utilizations, where SAR is plotted against EC
(USSL, 1954). The plot is classified into 16 water quality
classes according to the salinity and alkalinity hazards based
on the 4 categories of salinity (S) and alkalinity/sodium (C)
divided as low, medium, high, and very high as per their

Table 5  Parameters for Sample no WQI Water Type SAR RSC Na MH PI KR

evaluation of water for drinking
and irrigation efficiency indices 1 30.7 Excellent water 0.16 − 1.67 8.16 10.89 37.17 0.09
in the present study
2 29.4 Excellent water 0.10 − 1.87 5.44 33.18 35.89 0.06
3 30.1 Excellent water 0.14 − 1.86 7.75 34.07 31.64 0.09
4 30.5 Excellent water 0.08 − 2.07 4.43 48.98 30.05 0.05
5 30.9 Excellent water 0.10 − 2.08 5.00 33.33 32.38 0.06
6 31.6 Excellent water 0.10 − 2.64 4.83 29.58 28.20 0.05
7 30.5 Excellent water 0.09 − 2.05 4.81 38.05 33.58 0.06
8 30.2 Excellent water 0.08 − 1.70 5.29 31.82 33.06 0.05
9 29.7 Excellent water 0.04 − 2.02 3.21 21.40 30.55 0.02
10 29.6 Excellent water 0.07 − 2.04 4.26 27.27 30.54 0.04
11 31.0 Excellent water 0.10 − 1.79 5.77 23.77 37.05 0.06
12 30.6 Excellent water 0.08 − 2.04 4.66 27.60 31.21 0.05
13 30.9 Excellent water 0.09 − 2.00 4.96 19.64 31.34 0.05
14 30.9 Excellent water 0.06 − 2.09 3.89 22.41 30.18 0.04
15 30.8 Excellent water 0.05 − 1.72 3.59 7.37 36.56 0.03
16 30.3 Excellent water 0.05 − 2.37 2.89 8.45 27.73 0.02
17 30.3 Excellent water 0.07 − 2.16 3.64 25.62 30.61 0.04
18 29.7 Excellent water 0.08 − 1.99 4.78 33.96 32.31 0.05
19 29.8 Excellent water 0.07 − 1.80 4.34 30.69 34.48 0.04
20 30.1 Excellent water 0.06 − 1.83 4.18 26.27 34.91 0.04
21 30.1 Excellent water 0.06 − 1.82 3.53 31.03 33.91 0.03
Min 29.4 – 0.04 − 2.64 2.89 7.37 27.73 0.02
Max 31.6 – 0.16 − 1.67 8.16 48.98 37.17 0.09
Mean 30.4 – 0.08 − 2.00 4.80 27.03 32.52 0.05

13
 International Journal of Energy and Water Resources

Table 6  Classification of Category Range No. of samples Category Range No. of

surface water samples for sam-
irrigation use based on ples
WATCLASS
Na% K.R
Excellent 0–20 21 Suitable <1 21
Good 20–40 0 Unsuitable >1 0
Permissible 40–60 0
Doubtful 60–80 0 M.H (%)
Unsuitable > 80 0 Suitable < 50% 21
Unsuitable > 50% 0
S.A.R P.I (%)
Good (C1) 0–10 21 Excellent Class I 19
Medium (C2) 18–10 0 Good Class II 2
Bad (C3) 18–26 0 Unsuitable Class III 0
Poor (C4) > 26 0
R.S.C E.C (µs/cm)
Safe < 1.25 21 Excellent < 250 21
Likely hazardous 1.25–2.5 0 Good 250–750 0
Unsuitable > 2.5 0 Permissible 750–2250 0
Doubtful 2250–5000 0
Unsuitable > 5000 0

contents (Fig. 4a). The results from the USSL plot indicate
all the surface water samples of Satopanth Tal belong to the
category low salinity and sodium hazard (C1S1), which is
excellent for agricultural uses.
The utilization of sodium percentage (Na %) is the prime
factor determining the sodium hazard in irrigation (Wilcox,
1955). Na is a significant component in soil and water since
it has an exceptional effect on the structure and permeabil-
ity of soil (Rao, 2002). Na% values varied between 2.89
and 8.16% (Table 5) indicating that water in Satopanth Tal
is excellent for irrigation uses. Wilcox (1948) used sodium
percentage and electrical conductivity in estimating the suit-
ability of water for irrigation. This diagram classifies water
into five types with increasing salinity hazards and sodium
hazards (Fig. 4b). The results indicated that all the water
samples are good for irrigation because they are within a
very good to good category.
The high magnesium content in the water has more
unfavorable impacts when contrasted with calcium on crop
yield by making the soil alkaline (Gransee & Führs, 2013)
The determination of the amount of magnesium in water is,
therefore, very important; magnesium hazard (MH) analy-
sis was described by Paliwal (1972). By adopting the MH
values (in %), water is divided into two classes: suitable and
unsuitable (Table 6). The MH(%) values ranged between
7.37 and 48.98%; indicating that all the 21 samples are suit-
able for irrigational work. The residual sodium carbonate
(RSC) index was adopted to predict the perilous outcome of
carbonates and bicarbonates in the water (Gopal & Joseph,
2015). Especially, the high concentration of carbonates and
bicarbonates in water over alkaline earth impacted on the
water quality for irrigational applications. The RSC values
of Satopanth water (Table 5) were less than 1.25, indicating
that the water is suitable and safe for irrigation (Table 6).
Doneen (1964) observed that soil permeability is affected
by the long-term use of irrigation water. It is influenced by
sodium, calcium, and magnesium, and bicarbonate contents
of soil or sediment (Nagaraju et al., 2016). The Permeability
Index (PI) values (in %) are classified into three as shown
in Table 6. Almost all surface water samples are clustered
in class I while two samples are in class II (Fig. 4c) indicat-
ing that the surface water from Satopanth Tal is good to
excellent and suitable for irrigation. Kelly (1963) proposed
a crucial index by investigating the level of sodium against
calcium and magnesium in water termed Kelly’s ratio (KR).
KR values ranged from 0.02 to 0.09, suggesting that the
water is suitable for irrigation purposes as the average value
is less than 1 (Table 6).
Hydrogeochemical characteristics of surface
water
Piper Trilinear plots are maybe the most regularly utilized
technique for explaining hydrochemical patterns in typical
ion data. In this study, a Piper graph (Piper, 1953) was uti-
lized to explain the major hydrochemical facies. The cations
and anions are expressed in percentages of total cations and
ions, grouped as a solitary point on the left and right trian-
gles in milliequivalents/liter, respectively. Finally, these two

13
International Journal of Energy and Water Resources
Fig. 4  a Quality of water samples concerning salinity and sodium hazard, b Wilcox diagram of water samples (after Wilcox, 1955), and c Per-
meability Index plot of Satopanth Tal water for irrigation uses
points are then projected into the central diamond-shaped
area parallel to the upper edges of the central area. The point
where the extension intersects indicates the character of the
water as represented by the relationship among N ­ a+ + ­K+,
2+ 2+ 2– – – 2–
­Ca + ­Mg , ­CO3 + ­HCO3 , ­Cl , and S ­ O4 ions. All
3 fields have a scale reading in 100 parts. The values of
chemical data from the distinctive surface water samples
in the study area are plotted on the Piper diagram (Fig. 5a).
This (Fig. 5a) indicates that ­Ca2+ − ­Cl− is the major hydro-
geochemical facies, and suggesting the dominancy of alkali
and strong acids. As the percentage values of alkaline earth
metal significantly higher than the alkali metals, inferring
the dominancy of carbonate weathering mechanism is regu-
lating the hydrogeochemistry of Satopanth Tal.
Figure 5b revealed that all the samples fall in the zone
of high C­ a2+ + ­Mg2+ and S ­ O42– + ­Cl–. The examination of
the Trilinear plot of hydrochemical facies with the John-
son plot showed that all the surface water samples fall in
the zone of high calcium and magnesium concentrations as
well as sulphate and chloride elements, and indicated that all
the samples were alkaline in nature (Fig. 5b). Calcium and
magnesium are abundant in surface water as they are associ-
ated with calcite, gypsum, and dolomite types of minerals.
Hence, the water collected in the lake from the retreating
glacier may be affected by the metamorphosed sedimentary
environment of the Himalayan region (PWD, 2013) and
leads to carbonate weathering.
Hydrochemical studies relevant to water quality explain
the relationship of water chemistry to regional hydrology
(Jiang et al., 2020). So the relationship would help not
only to explain the origin and distribution of the dissolved
constituents, but also to elucidate the factor controlling
13

Fig. 5  a Pipers trilinear diagram, b modified piper diagram and c Gibbs Boomerang plot in Satopanth Tal surface water
surface chemistry. Gibbs (1970) has proposed a method
where he distinguished the action of water as due to rock-
water interaction, due to precipitation, or due to evapora-
tion. These classifications would not just help in explain-
ing the genesis and distribution of dissolved components
but also identify the variables that control the water chem-
istry. In the Satopanth Tal, the plot for both cations and
anions falls in the precipitation dominance zone which
means that the water composition is dominant by the
atmospheric precipitation process. None of the samples
lie on the upper side of the boomerang, which indicated
that none of the samples was undergoing evaporation and
rock weathering processes (Fig. 5c).
13
International Journal of Energy and Water Resources
Index of base exchange
Though CAI has been adopted by several authors (Adi-
malla et al., 2018; Kouadra & Demdoum, 2020; Wang
et al., 2020) for groundwater study, an attempt has been
made here to study the base ion exchange from the sur-
face water and presented in Table 7. The positive CAI
infers the exchange between N­ a+, and K ­ + with ­Ca2+ and
2+
­Mg in the aquifer or surrounding host rocks in case of
groundwater and surface water, respectively, while nega-
tive CAI indicated the reverse cation exchange reactions
(Kouadra & Demdoum, 2020). Hence, as the CAI values
from Satopanth Tal are positive, it can be inferred that the
International Journal of Energy and Water Resources

Table 7  Chloro-alkaline Sample No CAI-1 CAI-2 water composition was influenced by the atmospheric pre-
indices of the surface water of cipitation process. The positive CAI showed the importance
Satopanth Tal 1 0.91 0.97 of ion exchange which controls the chemistry of lake water.
2 0.94 0.94 With the strong precipitation, as well as the negligible con-
3 0.91 1.23 tribution of evaporation and underground sources, it can be
4 0.95 1.24 concluded that the Satopanth Tal water is fresh and clear.
5 0.95 1.14 Therefore, Gibb’s study showed that precipitation is one of
6 0.95 1.43 the most significant and dominant factors associated with
7 0.94 0.86 partial evaporation, which controls the surface water chem-
8 0.93 1.04 istry in Satopanth Tal. However, no anthropogenic activity
9 0.96 1.20 was observed in the lake during the study. Because the lake
10 0.93 0.88 is free of anthropogenic activities and is located at such a
11 0.93 0.82 high altitude of 4600 m AMSL, and the principal source
12 0.95 1.12 of water for the lake is contamination-free glacial melt-
13 0.93 0.93 water, the water quality of Satopanth Tal is good for both
14 0.95 1.02 domestic and irrigation needs, and no change in the water
15 0.96 0.89 quality was observed throughout the lake.
16 0.95 0.90
17 0.96 1.08 Acknowledgements The authors would like to thanks DST-SERB
18 0.94 0.97 (HG) for the financial support for this research (Grant no. SB/DGH-
63/2013). The authors also like to thank Dr. S.P Rai Associate Pro-
19 0.95 0.98
fessor, BHU, Varanashi (Former Scientist C at National Institute of
20 0.95 0.92 Hydrology, Roorkee, India) for his immense support to conduct the
21 0.96 1.03 analysis in NIH; authors would also like to thank the administration of
Max 0.96 1.43 Annamalai University as well as NIH, Roorkee for the smooth conduct
of the documents without any delay. Last but not least the authors
Min 0.91 0.82
would like to thank the Himalayan Trekker Company for their support
Mean 0.94 1.04 and help during the trekking period and in the fieldwork.

Declarations
key mechanism that governs the chemical composition of
Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no competing
the water in Satopanth Tal is the exchange of cations or
interests.
anions.
Ethical approval This article does not contain any studies with human
participants or animals performed by any of the authors.
Conclusion

The surface water quality assessment of the Satopanth Tal References

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