Spatial Assessment of Groundwater Quality and Health Risk of Nitrogen Pollution for Shallow Groundwater Aquifer around Fuyang City, China

• Main Authors: Nigus Kebede Wegahita, Lei Ma, Jiankui Liu, Tingwei Huang, Qiankun Luo, Jiazhong Qian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-11-01
• Series: Water
• Subjects: groundwater pollution; fuzzy comprehensive method; water quality assessment; nitrogen; health risk assessment
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/12/3341

Prolonged exposure to intensive and extensive agricultural and industrial activities is leading to an increased deterioration of groundwater quality, especially nitrogen pollution in shallow groundwater aquifers. This study was carried out using the fuzzy comprehensive method to assess the overall groundwater quality, and the noncarcinogenic risks were estimated using the human health risk assessment method recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) via drinking water intake pathways around Fuyang City, China. A total of 34 samples were collected from shallow groundwater private wells, and 16 parameters were analyzed for each groundwater sample. The evaluation results of groundwater quality show 14.7% of groundwater samples classified as poor and very poor quality, and NO₃-N, TH, TDS, Fe³⁺, and Mn are of high potential to affect the quality of potable drinking water. These are mainly derived from anthropogenic pollutants, predominantly due to uncontrolled agricultural and industrial activities, as well as some natural processes. The noncarcinogenic risk of nitrate indicates that 8.82% of groundwater samples surpass the permissible limit recommended by the USEPA for both adults and children. This study may provide the local authority with insights into making scientific decisions for exploiting groundwater in a sustainable manner so as to protect public health.