Assessment of Drinking Water Quality and Associated Socio-Economic Impacts in Arid Mountainous Regions

Muhammad Asif Saeed, Ghulam Murtaza (), Shafaqat Ali (), Humera Aziz, Mohammed F. Albeshr, Shahid Mahboob, Irfan Manzoor, Zia Ur Rahman Farooqi, Muhammad Sabir, Hamaad Raza Ahmad, Ayesha Abdul Qadir and Muhammad Sajjad ur Rehman
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Muhammad Asif Saeed: Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Ghulam Murtaza: Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Shafaqat Ali: Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Government College University, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Humera Aziz: Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Government College University, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Mohammed F. Albeshr: Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Shahid Mahboob: Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Irfan Manzoor: Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405-7000, USA
Zia Ur Rahman Farooqi: Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Muhammad Sabir: Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Hamaad Raza Ahmad: Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Ayesha Abdul Qadir: Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Muhammad Sajjad ur Rehman: Institute of Microbiology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 19, 1-14

Abstract: We investigated the quality of drinking water and its possible effects on human health in the Dera Ghazi Khan (D. G. Khan) district of Pakistan. Samples were collected from three tehsils of the D. G. Khan district, namely D. G. Khan, Kot Chutta, and Taunsa. A total of 50 samples ( n = 50) were collected from the study area using standard procedures. The pH of the water samples ranged from 6.52–8.75, EC 0.31–9.78 dS m −1 , and TDS 105–985 mg L −1 . The bacterial analysis showed that 9 out of 50 samples (18%) contained pathogenic E. coli bacterial. The results showed that the pH and EC values of some sampling sites exceeded the WHO guidelines for drinking water. It was observed that the pH of only 1 sample, and the EC of 18 samples in D. G. Khan—5 in Kot Chutta and 16 in Tehsil Taunsa—exceeded the WHO guidelines. In terms of E. coli presence and related diseases (hepatitis A, B, and C), we collected data, which were screened and belonged to the sampling sites, from 1378 patients receiving treatment related to hepatitis A, B, and C. It was revealed that 530 patients belonged to the D. G. Khan site, followed by Taunsa (460), and Kot Chutta (388). Based on the results, it was concluded that the quality of drinking water samples generally was good, except for 6% of the samples, assessed using (SAR) and Kelly’s ratio (KR), and 9 sites were positive for E. coli .

Keywords: drinking water; ecotoxicology; fecal contamination; health risks; hepatitis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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