Water borne ailments are of serious public health concern in Gilgit Baltistan’s (GB) region of Pakistan. The pollution load on the glacio-fluvial streams and surface water resources of the Chapurson Valley in the Hun...Water borne ailments are of serious public health concern in Gilgit Baltistan’s (GB) region of Pakistan. The pollution load on the glacio-fluvial streams and surface water resources of the Chapurson Valley in the Hunza Nagar area of the GB is increasing as a result of anthropogenic activities and tourism. The present study focuses on the public health quality of drinking water of Chapurson valley. The study addressed the fundamental drinking water quality criteria in order to understand the state of the public health in the valley. To ascertain the current status of physico-chemical, metals, and bacteriological parameters, 25 water samples were collected through deterministic sampling strategy and examined accordingly. The physico-chemical parameters of the water samples collected from the valley were found to meet the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines of drinking water. The water samples showed a pattern of mean metal concentrations in order of Arsenic (As) > Lead (Pb) > Iron (Fe) > Zinc (Zn) > Copper (Cu) > Magnesium (Mg) > Calcium (Ca). As, Cu, Zn, Ca and Mg concentration were under the WHO guidelines range. However, results showed that Pb and Fe are present at much higher concentrations than recommended WHO guidelines. Similarly, the results of the bacteriological analysis indicate that the water samples are heavily contaminated with the organisms of public health importance (including total coliforms (TCC), total faecal coliforms (TFC) and total fecal streptococci (TFS) are more than 3 MPN/100mL). Three principal components, accounting for 48.44% of the total variance, were revealed using principal component analysis (PCA). Bacteriological parameters were shown to be the main determinants of the water quality as depicted by the PCA analysis. The dendrogram of Cluster analysis using the Ward’s method validated the same traits of the sampling locations that were found to be contaminated during geospatial analysis using the Inverse Distance Weight (IDW) method. Based on these findings, it is most likely that those anthropogenic activities and essentially the tourism results in pollution load from upstream channels. Metals may be released into surface and groundwater from a few underlying sources as a result of weathering and erosion. This study suggests that the valley water resources are more susceptible to bacteriological contamination and as such no water treatment facilities or protective measure have been taken to encounter the pollution load. People are drinking the contaminated water without questioning about the quality. It is recommended that the water resources of the valley should be monitored using standard protocol so as to protect not only the public health but to safe guard sustainable tourism in the valley.展开更多
The current study attempted to evaluate the water quality in terms of physico-chemical properties, metals, and bacteriological characteristics of the surface water available in Shigar Valley located along Shigar River...The current study attempted to evaluate the water quality in terms of physico-chemical properties, metals, and bacteriological characteristics of the surface water available in Shigar Valley located along Shigar River in sub-district Shigar of district Skardu, Gilgit Baltistan (GB), Pakistan. A total of 17 water samples were collected during 2020 and analysed to perform multivariate analysis through principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA). Spatial distribution using inverse distance weight (IDW) interpolation was also utilised to determine the water quality in the valley to elucidate public health concerns. The study reveals that physico-chemical characteristics are the most important that affect water quality, followed by metals and bacteriological variables, according to a PCA application based on multivariate analysis. Examinations found that some of the metals including arsenic (As), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), and molybdenum (Mo) and all bacteriological parameters enlisting total coliform count (TCC), total faecal coliform (TFC), and total faecal streptococci (TFS) are not following the WHO guidelines that could be hazardous from the public health viewpoint. The IDW-based spatial distribution indicates that water samples have an intermittent and unusual distribution of observed parameters. Having considerable community settlements, people in the valley have limited options and have no choice except to consume the available water as no alternate source is available. People hardly question the water quality and rarely examine the water potability. The study also demonstrated that combining PCA with IDW would be a powerful method for assessing water quality. It is suggested that the sources of contamination be investigated further in detail to reduce the pollution load of the surface water in the valley, which could aid in the development of sustainable ecotourism.展开更多
文摘Water borne ailments are of serious public health concern in Gilgit Baltistan’s (GB) region of Pakistan. The pollution load on the glacio-fluvial streams and surface water resources of the Chapurson Valley in the Hunza Nagar area of the GB is increasing as a result of anthropogenic activities and tourism. The present study focuses on the public health quality of drinking water of Chapurson valley. The study addressed the fundamental drinking water quality criteria in order to understand the state of the public health in the valley. To ascertain the current status of physico-chemical, metals, and bacteriological parameters, 25 water samples were collected through deterministic sampling strategy and examined accordingly. The physico-chemical parameters of the water samples collected from the valley were found to meet the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines of drinking water. The water samples showed a pattern of mean metal concentrations in order of Arsenic (As) > Lead (Pb) > Iron (Fe) > Zinc (Zn) > Copper (Cu) > Magnesium (Mg) > Calcium (Ca). As, Cu, Zn, Ca and Mg concentration were under the WHO guidelines range. However, results showed that Pb and Fe are present at much higher concentrations than recommended WHO guidelines. Similarly, the results of the bacteriological analysis indicate that the water samples are heavily contaminated with the organisms of public health importance (including total coliforms (TCC), total faecal coliforms (TFC) and total fecal streptococci (TFS) are more than 3 MPN/100mL). Three principal components, accounting for 48.44% of the total variance, were revealed using principal component analysis (PCA). Bacteriological parameters were shown to be the main determinants of the water quality as depicted by the PCA analysis. The dendrogram of Cluster analysis using the Ward’s method validated the same traits of the sampling locations that were found to be contaminated during geospatial analysis using the Inverse Distance Weight (IDW) method. Based on these findings, it is most likely that those anthropogenic activities and essentially the tourism results in pollution load from upstream channels. Metals may be released into surface and groundwater from a few underlying sources as a result of weathering and erosion. This study suggests that the valley water resources are more susceptible to bacteriological contamination and as such no water treatment facilities or protective measure have been taken to encounter the pollution load. People are drinking the contaminated water without questioning about the quality. It is recommended that the water resources of the valley should be monitored using standard protocol so as to protect not only the public health but to safe guard sustainable tourism in the valley.
文摘The current study attempted to evaluate the water quality in terms of physico-chemical properties, metals, and bacteriological characteristics of the surface water available in Shigar Valley located along Shigar River in sub-district Shigar of district Skardu, Gilgit Baltistan (GB), Pakistan. A total of 17 water samples were collected during 2020 and analysed to perform multivariate analysis through principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA). Spatial distribution using inverse distance weight (IDW) interpolation was also utilised to determine the water quality in the valley to elucidate public health concerns. The study reveals that physico-chemical characteristics are the most important that affect water quality, followed by metals and bacteriological variables, according to a PCA application based on multivariate analysis. Examinations found that some of the metals including arsenic (As), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), and molybdenum (Mo) and all bacteriological parameters enlisting total coliform count (TCC), total faecal coliform (TFC), and total faecal streptococci (TFS) are not following the WHO guidelines that could be hazardous from the public health viewpoint. The IDW-based spatial distribution indicates that water samples have an intermittent and unusual distribution of observed parameters. Having considerable community settlements, people in the valley have limited options and have no choice except to consume the available water as no alternate source is available. People hardly question the water quality and rarely examine the water potability. The study also demonstrated that combining PCA with IDW would be a powerful method for assessing water quality. It is suggested that the sources of contamination be investigated further in detail to reduce the pollution load of the surface water in the valley, which could aid in the development of sustainable ecotourism.
