Rainfall Dependence of Springs in the Midwestern Himalayan Hills of Uttarakhand

One of the most important parameters of the hydrological cycle, precipitation, is directly affected by global warming; as a result, natural spring flow that receives input from rainfall in the midwestern Himalayan hills is affected as well. Spring flow is of prime importance in this area: Springs ar...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mountain research and development 2012-11, Vol.32 (4), p.446-455
Main Authors: Agarwal, Avinash, Bhatnaga, N. K, Nema, R. K, Agrawal, Nitin K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Climate change
Continuous production
correlation analysis
Correlations
Dependence
Hydrologic cycle
Hydrology
MountainResearch
Natural springs
Precipitation
Rain
rainfall
Research and development
Spring flow
Spring water
Surface water
Systems knowledge
Temperature
Trends
water availability
Water consumption
water demand
Watersheds
Western Himalaya
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:One of the most important parameters of the hydrological cycle, precipitation, is directly affected by global warming; as a result, natural spring flow that receives input from rainfall in the midwestern Himalayan hills is affected as well. Spring flow is of prime importance in this area: Springs are the backbone of all of the population's agricultural, social, and financial activities. The deterioration of spring flow results in outmigration and adversely affects the economy of the region. An 11-year study was undertaken of 2 watersheds in Uttarakhand, Chandrabhaga and Danda. These watersheds were observed using 9 automatic rain gauges and 2 river gauging sites. Spring flow measurements were made daily, covering almost all springs used by local inhabitants. A power regression relationship between precipitation and spring flow was developed, with high correlation. The time lag between precipitation and spring flow was investigated for different springs, based on 2 to 11 years of daily data. The springs in Chandrabhaga and Danda watersheds showed a daily measured lag of 1 to 30 days and a monthly measured lag of 0 to 2 months. It was observed that the discharge of springs in Chandrabhaga and Danda watersheds primarily responds to rainfall. Based on an analysis of average water availability, theoretical water demand, and actual water use in the 2 watersheds, we recommend planning for increasing the water retention power of each watershed, using drip irrigation in horticultural crops, and installing water conservation structures to capture rainwater during monsoon months for use during nonmonsoon months.
ISSN:0276-4741
1994-7151
DOI:10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-12-00054.1