Groundwater quality and human health risk assessment for safe and sustainable water supply of Dhaka City dwellers in Bangladesh

Accessing safe drinking water is an essential and primary human needs. This study conducted to investigate the suitability of groundwater use in Dhaka City dwellers, factors affecting groundwater quality, and human health risk to initiate the control measures. In this regards, groundwater samples were collected and analysed for pH, EC, TDS, Fe, Mn, Zn, F─, and NO3─. The results revealed that, groundwater is slightly acidic to alkaline and in some samples Fe and Mn concentrations exceed the standard permissible limits. Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) were performed to identify the pollution source and controlling factors, which revealed quality of the groundwater mainly controlled by geological, and several anthropogenic actions. However, chronic health risk of metals and anions…