Bonika Pant, Vibha Lohani, Malobica Das Trakroo and Hema Tewari
Abstract
Water exists in many forms and is one of the most abundant compounds. Lakes are very important lentic freshwater ecosystems, where the water quality is governed by many environmental and seasonal attributes. Lake Bhimtal in the Kumaun region is the largest lake of Uttarakhand. Three sites according to the anthropogenic interference were selected and the study of physiochemical parameters of the surface water was performed for a year (Jan-Dec, 2014). The range of physical properties i.e. water temperature, transparency, electric conductivity and turbidity during the study period was 11.5 to 27.5 °C, 235-332 cm, 170-185.5 μS/cm and 21-38.9 NTU respectively. Chemical parameters like pH, dissolved oxygen, free CO2, total alkalinity, nitrate and phosphate levels were found to be in the range of 7.4-8.7, 6.9-9 mg/L, 0-18.7 mg/L, 75-95 mg/L, 0.3-0.5 mg N L-1 and 0.01-0.03 mg P L-1 during the investigation period. The results indicate that the water is fit for recreational and domestic use but the human activities must be regulated near the lake to ensure long term utilization and preserving beauty of this lake.