116
grown in the agricultural lands of the catchment.
Of late, there has been change in the land use
pattern with more land used for horticulture,
diversion of land for construction purposes, etc.
Hydrology
The lake is fed mainly by rain and snowfall and
by the springs numbering >1,200. A regulated
outfl ow channel drains out the lake into the
Jhelum River. The lake is a source for domestic
and agricultural water supply. It facilitates navigation and is a popular site for recreation, tourism, fi shing and collection of economically
useful plants.
Water Quality Issues
This lake usually shows surface and bottom
water temperatures 4.0–30.0 °C and 4–19 °C,
respectively. Thermal stratifi cation may develop
during March to November. Thermocline may
be 9 m with hypolimnial water temperature
usually ranging from 8.5 to 11 °C. The lake
water, in general, further shows transparency
2.5–4.5 m, pH 8.8 (on the surface) –7.7(at 11 m
depth), DO 0.25–12.2 mg l
−1 , TA 50–110 mg l
−1 ,
Ca 18–42 mg l
−1 , Mg 6.0–12.0 mg l
−1 , K 0.8–
8.0 mg l
−1 , Na 5.0–10.0 mg l
−1 , NO 3 20.0–
40.0 μg l
−1 , PO 4 17.0–4.1 μg l
−1 , silicate
0.5–3.24 mg l
−1 and conductivity 170–330
μmhos cm
−1 .
Flora
The lake has emergent, fl oating and submerged
types of AM. Ceratophyllum demersum showed
abundance. The lake is a victim of eutrophication
with dense monospecifi c stands of weeds covering c 80 % of the lake. There is quite a rich diversity of phytoplankton. The plankton biomass may
usually vary from 54 to 864.9 mg/cm
2 .
Fauna
The fauna include the zooplankton, zoobenthos
and the fi sh. Some of the economically important
fi shes are Schizothorax niger , S. esocinus ,
Cyprinus carpio specularis , C. carpio communis
and Nemacheilus sp. The exotic Cyprinus has
proliferated extensively after its introduction in
1956. There has been a decline in the population
of indigenous species due to rapid changes in the
environment.
Deterioration of the Lake
Decrease in species diversity, increase in the
period of anoxic conditions and accumulation of
H 2 S in the deeper waters is a general order of the
lake today. The lake is also polluted mainly due
to lack of wastewater treatment plants.
Causes of Deterioration
Extensive works of World Wide Fund for Nature
(WWF) revealed the following main causes of
deterioration of the lake:
(a) Large-scale encroachment
(b) Siltation, infl ow of sewage and agricultural
wastes, etc.
These have been gradually converting the
potential lake it into a stinking marsh.
Lake Restoration Works
In view of the above, the following lake restoration measures could be undertaken (in 2007), with
the formation of Wular-Manasbal Development
Authority (WMDA) under the Government of
J&K:
(a) Construction pedestrian pathway around the
periphery of the lake
(b) Manual de-weeding
(c) Dredging
(d) Demarcation of the lake to prevent
encroachment
(e) Afforestation
There is community participation in the restoration process of the lake.
HA Glacial Lakes of J&K
There are a number of HA lakes in J&K. Of
these, 12 signifi cant ones, lying at 3,200–3,819 m
MSL, are located in Kashmir at a distance of
60–130 km from Srinagar. Some have a maximum depth of 80 m (Vass et al. 1989).
These lakes have rocky watersheds, with little
or no plant cover. Summer rains are scarce and
they are fed mainly by the snowmelt glaciers.
The lakes are frozen for 6–9 months. Secchi disc
transparency (usually determined by the concentration of suspended sediments, i.e. mainly glacial
6 Lakes of the World
grown in the agricultural lands of the catchment.
Of late, there has been change in the land use
pattern with more land used for horticulture,
diversion of land for construction purposes, etc.
Hydrology
The lake is fed mainly by rain and snowfall and
by the springs numbering >1,200. A regulated
outfl ow channel drains out the lake into the
Jhelum River. The lake is a source for domestic
and agricultural water supply. It facilitates navigation and is a popular site for recreation, tourism, fi shing and collection of economically
useful plants.
Water Quality Issues
This lake usually shows surface and bottom
water temperatures 4.0–30.0 °C and 4–19 °C,
respectively. Thermal stratifi cation may develop
during March to November. Thermocline may
be 9 m with hypolimnial water temperature
usually ranging from 8.5 to 11 °C. The lake
water, in general, further shows transparency
2.5–4.5 m, pH 8.8 (on the surface) –7.7(at 11 m
depth), DO 0.25–12.2 mg l
−1 , TA 50–110 mg l
−1 ,
Ca 18–42 mg l
−1 , Mg 6.0–12.0 mg l
−1 , K 0.8–
8.0 mg l
−1 , Na 5.0–10.0 mg l
−1 , NO 3 20.0–
40.0 μg l
−1 , PO 4 17.0–4.1 μg l
−1 , silicate
0.5–3.24 mg l
−1 and conductivity 170–330
μmhos cm
−1 .
Flora
The lake has emergent, fl oating and submerged
types of AM. Ceratophyllum demersum showed
abundance. The lake is a victim of eutrophication
with dense monospecifi c stands of weeds covering c 80 % of the lake. There is quite a rich diversity of phytoplankton. The plankton biomass may
usually vary from 54 to 864.9 mg/cm
2 .
Fauna
The fauna include the zooplankton, zoobenthos
and the fi sh. Some of the economically important
fi shes are Schizothorax niger , S. esocinus ,
Cyprinus carpio specularis , C. carpio communis
and Nemacheilus sp. The exotic Cyprinus has
proliferated extensively after its introduction in
1956. There has been a decline in the population
of indigenous species due to rapid changes in the
environment.
Deterioration of the Lake
Decrease in species diversity, increase in the
period of anoxic conditions and accumulation of
H 2 S in the deeper waters is a general order of the
lake today. The lake is also polluted mainly due
to lack of wastewater treatment plants.
Causes of Deterioration
Extensive works of World Wide Fund for Nature
(WWF) revealed the following main causes of
deterioration of the lake:
(a) Large-scale encroachment
(b) Siltation, infl ow of sewage and agricultural
wastes, etc.
These have been gradually converting the
potential lake it into a stinking marsh.
Lake Restoration Works
In view of the above, the following lake restoration measures could be undertaken (in 2007), with
the formation of Wular-Manasbal Development
Authority (WMDA) under the Government of
J&K:
(a) Construction pedestrian pathway around the
periphery of the lake
(b) Manual de-weeding
(c) Dredging
(d) Demarcation of the lake to prevent
encroachment
(e) Afforestation
There is community participation in the restoration process of the lake.
HA Glacial Lakes of J&K
There are a number of HA lakes in J&K. Of
these, 12 signifi cant ones, lying at 3,200–3,819 m
MSL, are located in Kashmir at a distance of
60–130 km from Srinagar. Some have a maximum depth of 80 m (Vass et al. 1989).
These lakes have rocky watersheds, with little
or no plant cover. Summer rains are scarce and
they are fed mainly by the snowmelt glaciers.
The lakes are frozen for 6–9 months. Secchi disc
transparency (usually determined by the concentration of suspended sediments, i.e. mainly glacial
6 Lakes of the World