Distribution of Heavy Metal Concentrations of Groundwater in Rural Areas in Pingyi County

Groundwater is one of the most important water resources for drinking in the rural areas,so the assessment of heavy metals in groundwater is essential for evaluating water quality.In this study,groundwater samples were taken from 49 villages in Pingyi County which is a representative mountainous area in the south of Shandong Province,China.The concentrations of Cu,Fe,Pb,Zn,Cr,and Cd were analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometer(ICP-OES).The results indicated that the concentrations of Cu,Fe,Pb,Zn,Cr,and Cd ranged from 0～0.127 mg·L-1,0.01～0.532 mg·L-1,0～0.006 mg·L-1,0.025～8.459 mg·L-1,0～0.035 mg·L-1,0～0.001 mg·L-1 respectively.The concentrations of heavy metals of most samples were lower than the limited values of drinking water standard of China and EPA.However,Fe concentrations of 2 samples and Zn concentrations of 3 samples exceed drinking water standard of China and EPA.Correlation analysis demonstrated that Zn and Fe,Cr,and Pb showed a significant correlation in pairs,which suggest Zn and Fe,Cr and Pb have similar sources or transfer path in the study area.The spatial differentiations of 6 heavy metal concentrations were large with a character of patchy distribution,suggesting their concentrations may be influenced by human activities.