Hydrogeochemical and health risk investigation of potentially toxic elements in groundwater along River Sutlej floodplain in Punjab, Pakistan.

Understanding groundwater quality and hydrogeochemical behavior is important because consumption of the potentially toxic elements (PTEs)-contaminated drinking water may induce several health problems for humans and animals. In the current study, we examined the potential groundwater contamination with various PTEs (arsenic, As; cadmium, Cd; copper, Cu; manganese; Mn) and the PTEs-induced health risk. Groundwater (n = 111) was characterized for total As, Cd, Cu, and Mn concentrations and other water quality attributes along the River Sutlej floodplain of Punjab, Pakistan. Results revealed that groundwater, which is used for drinking purpose, contained high concentrations of As and Cd (mean As: 33 µg/L, mean Cd: 3 µg/L), exceeding 100% and 32% than the World Health Organization's safe limits (10 and 3 µg/L, respectively) in drinking water. The other water quality attributes (i.e., EC, HCO3, Cl and SO4) were also found above their safe limits in most of the wells. Hydrogeochemical data showed that groundwater was dominated with Na-SO4, Na-Cl, Ca/Mg-CO3 type saline water. The hazard quotient and cancer risk indices values calculated for As and Cd indicated potential threat (carcinogenic risk > 0.0001 and non-carcinogenic risk > 1.0) of drinking groundwater in the study area. This study shows that the groundwater along River Sutlej floodplain poses a health threat to the communities relying on it for drinking and irrigation due to high concentrations of As and Cd in water. Moreover, it is important to monitor groundwater quality in the adjacent areas along River Sutlej floodplain and initiate suitable mitigation and remediation programs for the safety of people's health in Punjab, Pakistan.