Prospecting Natural Spring in the Fragile Himalayan Environment of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan

Abstract

Water demand has been multiplied many times due to growing population, urbanization and climate change in the
Himalayan region, where most of the mountain communities depend on the spring resource for their sustenance. It is necessary
to assess the available spring resource and develop strategies to improve spring management to ensure water security in the
region. An attempt has been made to identify spring potential in the Himalayan region of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK),
Pakistan through integrated geospatial and ground-based approach. The results of the study revealed a total of 1109 springs in
the AJK. The density of springs was found to be high, i.e., 0.12 springs/km² in the 1250–1500 mm rainfall zone, followed by
0.08 springs/km² in the 1000–1250 mm zone. The spring density appears to exhibit an exponential increase with rainfall, which
shows a greater influence of precipitation in nurturing the springs in this region. According to the Gibbs diagram, the spring
derived water samples were found in the rock dominance zone pointing toward chemical weathering of rocks as the major
factor contributing ions to the water. The Spearman correlation analysis exhibited a close positive association between Ca and
Mg, likely due to weathering of the carbonate rocks. Future studies should be focused on detailed hydrogeological
investigations and spring shed management to ensure sustained supplies of spring water in this region.

Keywords: Groundwater system, hydrogeology, spring management, Himalayan region.