Hydrological classification and performance of Himalayan springs in climate change scenario – a case study

Abstract

Abstract The present study was conducted to evaluate 33 springs' hydrology (discharge and yield estimation) of Chandrabhaga and Danda watersheds of Uttarakhand, India. The springs were classified using Meinzer method and evaluated the relative performance for rejuvenation strategy. It was found that most of springs fall in sixth and seventh class order with flow rate 6.5 to 65.5 and 0.8 to 6.5 m3·day−1, respectively. The relative performance of springs were analyzed based on four methods: (i) spring flow variability, (ii) normalized spring flow (short and long duration), (iii) rainfall spring flow lag and (iv) spring flow gradient. The relative results of springs were analyzed on a scale of 0–5. The Chandrabhaga springs 01, 03, 4B, 05, 06 and 13 were found to be relatively good on a scale value of 4 out of 5 as compared to springs 4A, 07, and 10A with a scale value of 1. For the Danda watershed, the relative performance of springs 4A and 28 found on scale value of 5 and springs 4B, 11 and 20 with a scale value of 4 are relatively good compared to springs 02, 06, 07, 15 and 17. The cumulative flow of spring showed a linear response with cumulative rainfall for the period of June to September (monsoon period). The spring-shed was delineated and evaluated for optimization for the maximum efficiency, spring flow, ratio of area and relief versus maximum spring flow yield. The results revealed that the quantification of water fluxes for water balances, storage of groundwater and development of mathematical models can be used for sustainable water resources development and to revive the mountain springs which helped the adverse impacts of climate change.