Assessment of pond water quality and human health risk in the shoreline, intermediate and inland coastal areas of Bangladesh

Introduction Surface water quality of the southwestern coastal zones of Bangladesh has been deteriorating through different human, industrial and agricultural activities. The emission of the effluents containing trace metals from these activities can contaminate the surface water. Human health may be adversely affected through the intake of trace metals present in drinking water. Objectives The study assessed pond water quality and human health risk in three villages named shoreline (Rajoir), intermediate (Gangarampur) and inland (Ganapatipur) of southwest coastal Bangladesh. A total of 36 water samples were collected from randomly selected 12 stations covering almost the entire study area. A total of 18 parameters were tested to determine the quality through water quality index (WQI), metal evaluation index (MEI), metal pollution index (MPI), and hazard index (HI). In addition, a total of 338 household heads (HHs) were interviewed through a self-developed semi-structured questionnaire along with three focus group discussions (FGDs) to achieve the objectives. Results The mean WQI increased from 105.95-150.69 from the shoreline to the inland area and was graded as ‘unsuitable’. The mean MEI was higher in the intermediate than that of shoreline and inland areas. The mean HI child was also higher than HI infant and HI adult in the three study areas, indicating that children were at higher risk rather than others. The MEI results indicated that about 50% of water samples were graded as ‘moderately affected’ for all the study area. According to MPI, about 75% (inland) and 50% (shoreline) water samples were graded as ‘moderately affected’. HI recommended that all the sampling stations were graded as ‘unsafe’ except 25% of samples from both shoreline and intermediate areas for infants. The majority of the respondents reported suffering from various diseases. Conclusion Pond water is recommended for use in drinking or household purposes only after proper filtration. Furthermore, the research findings are important for environmental and human health. Further research would be beneficial to explore the link among water pollution, human health, and livelihoods, and to understand the extent of pollution. This study also serves as a baseline for the coastal area of Bangladesh.