wastewater and runoff from agricultural lands
ultimately ended up in estuaries (Edmunds
2003). The municipal and industrial wastewater
discharges a constant polluting source. Nonurban land uses, particularly agricultural areas,
are the dominant sources of nutrient (nitrogen
and phosphorus) pollution but urban areas contribute the majority of the heavy metal pollution.
However, both sources have an influence on
water quality and quantity over a range of temporal and spatial scales (Bhaduri 2000). Therefore, water scarcity and water pollution have
become a global issue (Liu Cheng et al. 2012; Li
et al. 2014).
Water quality management of river runoff
calls for adequate mathematical models to assess
quantitatively the hydrological and hydrochemical processes in river basins. The models
should take into account both temporal and
spatial effects of natural and anthropogenic (if
any) factors on hydrological and hydro-chemical
regimes of rivers. The complicated orographic
structure of mountainous areas and space–time
composition of climatic fields impede the task
solution greatly. A system approach with
appropriate methods for modeling of complex
natural systems can be feasible solution of the
problem. One of such methods is the application
of single-valued functions with multiple arguments analytically defined on specified time
intervals. The system approach and these functions were used as a basis for a proposed systemanalytical modeling of water quality and mountain river hydrochemical runoff.
Water resource, mainly the water for drinking
and sanitation purposes (Sustainable Development Goals-6: Clean Water and Sanitation) to the
people is prime concern. Mountains are fragile
ecosystems which are globally important as
water tower of the earth, reservoirs of rich biodiversity, and popular destinations for recreation,
tourism and cultural heritage. Mountains provide
direct life support base for human-kind (Roy and
Singh 2002). The ever-growing population and
fast urbanization are leading to over-utilization of
the water resources, and exerting pressure on
these commonalities which are on the brink of
collapse. Consequently, the world climate is
changing more rapidly in recent years (Vijaya
et al. 2011) and causes difficulty in appropriate
water management including storage plans. As
the water resources are inextricably linked with
climate, the global climate change has serious
implications on them (Bates et al. 2008; Ghosh
and Mishra 2010), and therefore has led to the
vulnerable state of the water resources worldwide. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) has projected rising trend of
Earth’s surface temperature of about 0.2 °C per
decade for the next two decades due to increasing
concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (IPCC 2007). Increased temperature leads
to irregular frequency and intensity of rainfall
that significantly increases the intra-annual variability of stream flow; in turn will have an impact
on water availability. The impact of climate
change in future would be quite severe for India.
Salinization of potable water resources is an
emerging issue in India and it may damage
agricultural productivity and health. Continued
groundwater withdrawals, compounded by a
decrease in groundwater recharge, can trigger the
seawater/freshwater interface to move inland
resulting in additional salinization of the coastal
aquifer (Blanco et al. 2013). The sea water
intrusion phenomenon can be attributed to a
variety of conditions like gentle coastal hydraulic
gradients, tidal and estuarine activity, excessive
and heavy withdrawals of groundwater from
coastal plain aquifers, depletion of groundwater
level, low infiltration and local hydrogeological
conditions. Climate change-induced sea-level
rise is one potentially significant process that is
expected to play a role in sea water intrusion.
Where sea level fluctuations are retained within
the intertidal zone (i.e. coastal barriers are not
overtopped), their influence on sea water intrusion is more ambiguous (Werner et al. 2013).
The water supply was so far treated as main
development of an exploitative delivery system.
Now, the thrust has to change toward an integrated approach of the subject through a large
number of disciplines which would include
geologists, hydrologists, geophysicists, irrigation
engineers, agricultural scientists and above all
social scientists. Water supply is not a mere
19 Conclusion
253
ultimately ended up in estuaries (Edmunds
2003). The municipal and industrial wastewater
discharges a constant polluting source. Nonurban land uses, particularly agricultural areas,
are the dominant sources of nutrient (nitrogen
and phosphorus) pollution but urban areas contribute the majority of the heavy metal pollution.
However, both sources have an influence on
water quality and quantity over a range of temporal and spatial scales (Bhaduri 2000). Therefore, water scarcity and water pollution have
become a global issue (Liu Cheng et al. 2012; Li
et al. 2014).
Water quality management of river runoff
calls for adequate mathematical models to assess
quantitatively the hydrological and hydrochemical processes in river basins. The models
should take into account both temporal and
spatial effects of natural and anthropogenic (if
any) factors on hydrological and hydro-chemical
regimes of rivers. The complicated orographic
structure of mountainous areas and space–time
composition of climatic fields impede the task
solution greatly. A system approach with
appropriate methods for modeling of complex
natural systems can be feasible solution of the
problem. One of such methods is the application
of single-valued functions with multiple arguments analytically defined on specified time
intervals. The system approach and these functions were used as a basis for a proposed systemanalytical modeling of water quality and mountain river hydrochemical runoff.
Water resource, mainly the water for drinking
and sanitation purposes (Sustainable Development Goals-6: Clean Water and Sanitation) to the
people is prime concern. Mountains are fragile
ecosystems which are globally important as
water tower of the earth, reservoirs of rich biodiversity, and popular destinations for recreation,
tourism and cultural heritage. Mountains provide
direct life support base for human-kind (Roy and
Singh 2002). The ever-growing population and
fast urbanization are leading to over-utilization of
the water resources, and exerting pressure on
these commonalities which are on the brink of
collapse. Consequently, the world climate is
changing more rapidly in recent years (Vijaya
et al. 2011) and causes difficulty in appropriate
water management including storage plans. As
the water resources are inextricably linked with
climate, the global climate change has serious
implications on them (Bates et al. 2008; Ghosh
and Mishra 2010), and therefore has led to the
vulnerable state of the water resources worldwide. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) has projected rising trend of
Earth’s surface temperature of about 0.2 °C per
decade for the next two decades due to increasing
concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (IPCC 2007). Increased temperature leads
to irregular frequency and intensity of rainfall
that significantly increases the intra-annual variability of stream flow; in turn will have an impact
on water availability. The impact of climate
change in future would be quite severe for India.
Salinization of potable water resources is an
emerging issue in India and it may damage
agricultural productivity and health. Continued
groundwater withdrawals, compounded by a
decrease in groundwater recharge, can trigger the
seawater/freshwater interface to move inland
resulting in additional salinization of the coastal
aquifer (Blanco et al. 2013). The sea water
intrusion phenomenon can be attributed to a
variety of conditions like gentle coastal hydraulic
gradients, tidal and estuarine activity, excessive
and heavy withdrawals of groundwater from
coastal plain aquifers, depletion of groundwater
level, low infiltration and local hydrogeological
conditions. Climate change-induced sea-level
rise is one potentially significant process that is
expected to play a role in sea water intrusion.
Where sea level fluctuations are retained within
the intertidal zone (i.e. coastal barriers are not
overtopped), their influence on sea water intrusion is more ambiguous (Werner et al. 2013).
The water supply was so far treated as main
development of an exploitative delivery system.
Now, the thrust has to change toward an integrated approach of the subject through a large
number of disciplines which would include
geologists, hydrologists, geophysicists, irrigation
engineers, agricultural scientists and above all
social scientists. Water supply is not a mere
19 Conclusion
253