Effect of Human Settlements on Surface and Groundwater Quality: Statistical Source Identification of Heavy and Trace Metals of Siran River and its Catchment Area Mansehra, Pakistan

The present study is a comprehensive evaluation of ground and surface water quality of The Siran River and its catchment area, District Mansehra, Pakistan. Trace elements, heavy metals (i.e., As, Ni, Mn, Cu, Zn, Co, Cd, Pb, Fe, Ca, Mg, Na and K) and physical parameters such as pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Bicarbonates (HCO3), Chloride (Cl-), Sulphates (SO42-), Nitrate (NO3-) and Phosphates (PO43-) were investigated at 64 sampling points. The average concentration of all surface water and groundwater parameters were within the permissible limits of WHO, and Pak EPA except for NO3-, PO43-, Fe, Pb and Cd. These higher concentrations are reported from the most populated area. The Piper diagram of water chemistry showed that water type of the study area belonged to NaCaHCO3 and CaHCO3 type with HCO3- as dominant anion and Na+ as dominant cation Furthermore, multivariate statistical analysis like inter-metal correlation, cluster analysis (CA) and Principal Component analysis (PCA) results revealed that geogenic and anthropogenic activities were major sources of surface and subsurface water contamination in study area.