Water quality for the surface water along the Kunhar River in the Mansehra district, Pakistan, was assessed for 10 water sample stations. A variety of parameters indicating water quality including physicochemical parameters, nutrients, heavy metals, and antibiotic residues were measured for both the rainy and dry seasons, the two main tropical seasons in Mansehra using the standard methods. The Kunhar River, one of the local drinking water sources, was studied to assess the heavy metal content, health risk assessment, and its suitability for human consumption. Eleven heavy metals (such as As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Na, Se, Pb, and Zn) in water were investigated from the Kunhar River basin. Heavy metals evaluated exceeded standards and warranted risk assessment. Concentrations of metals in water have a decreasing trend in water indicating that the accumulation of metals can affect the water chemistry of aquatic systems due to any physical or chemical process in the system. Greater consideration should be given to the variety of metals in relationship to multivariate analyses suggesting that the industrial and residential activities were more important contributors to the pollution of the Kunhar River than the agricultural activities in the Mansehra district and the risks faced by aquatic life due to the presence of such metals.