Water quality indices appraisal and health risk assessment of nitrate, mercury and lead in water distribution network: A case study of Robat Karim in Tehran, Iran

Groundwater is a basic source of drinking water supply for urban and rural areas. This is especially the case for communities located in arid and semi‐arid regions that rely on groundwater for drinking purposes. The present study set out to assess the potential health impacts of water impurities and to investigate the qualitative status of drinking water in Robat Karim rural areas, located in southwest Tehran, Iran. A total of 66 samples were collected from the water distribution network of 11 villages (33 sampling points, on two occasions) during September 2020 and were tested in terms of the most common quality parameters such as pH, mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), chloride (Cl–), chlorate (ClO3–), nitrite (NO2–), nitrate (NO3–), and flouride (F–). Multiple methods and indexes including water quality index (WQI), hazard quotient (HQ), and hazard index (HI), were worked out to assess the quality of water and health risk assessment of NO3– Pb2+ and Hg2+. The results revealed that 33% and 90% of sampling sites have significantly high nitrate and total hardness (TH) concentrations, exceeding the maximum permissible limits set by World Health Organization (WHO; 50 and 200 mg/L, respectively). Furthermore, five sampling points exhibited poor WQIs mainly related to NO3– and TH. HQ values higher than 1 for nitrate were noticed in most sampling locations. Except for one sampling point, the HQ obtained for Pb2+ and Hg2+ were below 1 indicating no obvious health hazard. This study represents that children and infants are at higher risk of chronic toxicity by excess NO3– intake. The health hazard that is yet imposed on the community by NO3– necessitates regular monitoring of drinking water, the use of advanced technologies to purify water or otherwise alternative resources should be proposed.