Vol. 1, Issue 10, Part I (2015)

Abstract
The Present study was aimed to estimate and investigate some physico-chemical parameters of Dal Lake of Kashmir, India. Physicochemical analysis of water samples was done on monthly basis from July to November. Ashai Bagh basin showed the highest level of pollution followed by Nehru Park basin. The concentration of pollutants mainly BOD, total hardness, chloride, nitrate nitrogen and phosphorus was found to be more at these two sites than Telbal basin. The results showed that highest concentration of BOD was found at Ashai Bagh 145.2 mg/L^-1 and lowest in the month of November 94.3 mg/L^-1 . In the case of total hardness, the highest value (143.3 mg/L^-1) was observed at Nehru Park in the month of July, while the lower value (60.2 mg/L^-1) was found at Telbal. The maximum mean nitrate-nitrogen (N-NO3) 425.2 μg/L was found at Nehru Park followed by 390.6 μg/L at Ashai Bagh and minimum (301.5 μg/L) was recorded at Telbal in summer. Similarly, the maximum mean phosphates (PO4 -3) of 220.1 μg/L were found at Nehru Park followed by 216.5 μg/L at Ashai Bagh. Therefore the present study clearly indicates that Dal Lake is undergoing rapid eutrophication under the increasing anthropogenic impacts in its drainage basins. The rate of pollution varies from one basin to other. In general, the nutrient concentration was found highest at Ashai Bagh followed by Nehru Park and least at Telbal.