Water Quality and Designated Best Use (DBU) Determination of Bhim Taal Lake of Panchkula, Haryana

There are large number of water sources available on earth such as oceans, springs, lakes, and ponds but not all the water sources can be considered as usable. Only 2.5% out of the available sources of water are freshwater and only 1% out of them can be considered as an accessible source; considering this fact lakes can be considered as a reliable source of water comprising of about 0.3% of freshwater resources available to humans for use, they have been used for years as a source of water for drinking, bathing, washing, swimming, and other recreational activities. Since there is an availability of limited amount of freshwater resources, the optimum utilization of the available resources should be the major area to focus upon. The sustainability concept needs to be implemented for the water resources because discovering the new water sources for fulfilling the ever-increasing demands of humans is not possible. The anthropogenic activities around the lakes have deteriorated the quality of lakes; therefore, there is a need for maintenance of these water resources based on the determination of degraded water quality characteristics and utilizing the water according to the designated best use based on the measured values of the parameters. In this study, we focus on the utilization of a lake as a source for drinking, bathing, propagation of wildlife and fisheries and industrial and irrigational use based on the parameters measured and in comparison with the guidelines issued by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The site has been utilized for years by local communities for their personal use but no study has been made for the determination of the parameters and putting the water body to use according to the DBU neither the developmental activities has been seen and reported for the site to be used as a source of water for human and animal consumption. The samples were collected for the site and tested in the laboratory for determination of values of various parameters. The values were then compared with the values of DBU table issued by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for various parameters to determine the designated uses of the water body. The project is at an initial stage and a single sampling program has been carried till now as a first step toward optimum utilization of the water source.