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Abstract-
The present study uses several univariate and multivariate statistical techniques to evaluate and interpret a water quality data set obtained from the Markanda River within the state of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, India. Data was collected from August-November 2013 and 2014 for eight parameters used to assess the status of the water quality, namely pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, total hardness, chloride, sulphate, biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand. Water quality was monitored at 8 sampling stations along the Markanda river. The data were first analysed using univariate statistical tools, followed by principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis that reduced the data dimensions for better interpretation. This study also presents the usefulness of different statistical methods for evaluation and interpretation of river water quality data for the purpose of monitoring the effectiveness of water resource management. Higher values of EC, BOD and COD indicate that river water is not safe for drinking purposes as prescribed by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).