Evaluation and classification of water quality of glacier‐fed channels using supervised learning and water quality index

Abstract

Potable water is considered the smallest fraction of total water on the earth's surface. It is being depleted and getting polluted with the rapid growth of the world's population (Kulshreshtha, 1998). According to a report published in 2008, the water scarcity level has been increased to a drastic level, i.e,. in some regions of the world the water supply has been decreased by 50% than its demand (MDG Gap Task Force, 2008). The consumption of safe drinking water is the basic need and a rudimentary right of human beings. Unfortunately, in the developing world, governments are not strictly implementing environmental protection laws; therefore, over 1 billion people are using unclean and contaminated water to meet their domestic needs (WHO, 2004).High-altitude surface water resources including glacial-fed lakes, ponds, channels, etc. are the major sources of potable water for the local communities, tourists, trekkers, and wildlife. In the mountainous terrain, the geomorphological and hydrogeological systems play an important role in governing the amount of discharge of snow melting water (UNCSD, 2012

Assessing water and water infrastructure quality in community-managed water supply systems in northern Pakistan

“…The availability of potable water in Gilgit-Baltistan, the mountains of northern Pakistan, has been one of the major challenges for successive governments. Gilgit-Baltistan has the largest amount of frozen water after the North and South poles but water availability is restricted in winter while water from melting glaciers in summer is affected by high turbidity in rivers (Ahmed et al 2021). Access to river water is another problem given mountainous terrain and harsh weather conditions while the majority of urban centres are faced with water stress and insecurity as water from municipal sources cannot meet demand (Singh et al 2020).…”