Evaluation of the Swat River, Northern Pakistan, water quality using multivariate statistical techniques and water quali
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Evaluation of the Swat River, Northern Pakistan, water quality using multivariate statistical techniques and water quality index (WQI) model Shah Jehan 1 & Ihsan Ullah 2 & Sardar Khan 2 & Said Muhammad 1 & Seema Anjum Khattak 1 & Tariq Khan 3 Received: 29 October 2019 / Accepted: 10 June 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract This study evaluates the characteristics of water along the Swat River, Northern Pakistan. For this purpose, water samples (n = 30) were collected and analyzed for physicochemical parameters including heavy metals (HM). The mean concentrations of physicochemical parameters and HM were within the drinking water guideline values set by the World Health Organization (WHO 2011) except 34%, 60%, and 56% of copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and lead (Pb), respectively. Pollution sources were identified by various multivariate statistical techniques including correlation analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA) indicating different origins both naturally and anthropogenically. Results of the water quality index (WQI) ranged from 13.58 to 209 with an average value of 77 suggesting poor water quality for drinking and domestic purposes. The poor water quality was mainly related to high sodium (alkalinity) and salinity hazards showing > 27% and 20% water samples have poor alkalinity and salinity hazards, respectively. Hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI) were used to determine the health risk of HM in the study area. For water-related health risk, HQingestion, HQdermal, and HI values were > 1, indicating noncarcinogenic health risk (NCR) posed by these HM to the exposed population. Keywords Water quality index (WQI) model . Sodium adsorptionratio . Principal component analysis . Geostatistical techniques . Human health risk assessment . Swat River
Introduction Water is the most limited and countable resource, and only a small fraction (2.5%) of surface water is fresh and suitable for various purposes (household activities, agriculture practices, aquatic biochemical processes, and industrial maneuver) to humans and other living beings (Avci et al. 2018; Xiao et al. 2019). The investigation of water quality and its resources is essential for understanding the current state of water and the Responsible Editor: Xianliang Yi * Shah Jehan [email protected] 1
National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25130, Pakistan
2
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan
3
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Haripur, Haripur 26620, Pakistan
main threats that have occurred over the past decades. Natural (i.e., erosion and weathering) and anthropogenic activities have drastically and exceedingly reduced the volume and quality of water globally (Jehan et al. 2019a; Rashid et al. 2019a). Anthropogenic factors are a set of different activities that depend on intensity and time. The quality of water can be damaged either from point or nonpoint sources, and point sources can easily be recognized by the
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