Impact of land use/land cover changes on water quality and human health in district Peshawar Pakistan

Abstract

The quality and quantity of groundwater resources are affected by landuse/landcover (LULC) dynamics, particularly the increasing urbanization coupled with high household wastewater discharge and decreasing open lands. This study evaluates temporal changes of groundwater quality for 2012 and 2019, its relation to Landuse/landcover, and its impact on Peshawar's residents (study area), Pakistan. A total of 105 and 112 groundwater samples were collected from tube wells in 2012 and 2019. Samples were then analyzed for seven standard water quality parameters (i.e., pH, electric conductivity (EC), turbidity, chloride, calcium, magnesium, and nitrate). Patient data for waterborne diseases were also collected for the years 2012 and 2019 to relate the impact of groundwater quality on human health. Landsat satellite images were classified for the years 2012 and 2019 to observe landuse/landcover dynamics concerning groundwater quality. Results manifested a decrease in groundwater quality for the year 2019 compared to 2012 and were more highlighted in highly populated areas. The nitrate concentration level was found high in the vicinity of agricultural areas due to the excessive use of nitrogenous fertilizers and pesticides, and thus the methemoglobinemia patients ratio increased by 14% (48–62% for the year 2012 and 2019, respectively). Besides, Urinary Tract Infections, Peptic Ulcer, and Dental Caries diseases increased due to the high calcium and magnesium concentration. The overall results indicate that anthropogenic activities were the main driver of Spatio-temporal variability in groundwater quality of the study area. The study could help district health administration understand groundwater quality trends, make appropriate site-specific policies, and formulate future health regulations.

Characterizing Spatiotemporal Variations in the Urban Thermal Environment Related to Land Cover Changes in Karachi, Pakistan, from 2000 to 2020

“…It was shown that this expansion primarily occurred at the expense of areas that were previously planted with crops or were open bare land. Expansion of built-up areas at the expense of cropland during the process of urbanization has also been noted in other Pakistani metropolises, including Lahore [63], Peshawar [64], and Islamabad [65]. An important feature observed concerning LULC changes in Karachi during 2000-2020 was that the cropland and open bare land were first converted into areas of open land before becoming part of the built-up area.…”

Non-Carcinogenic Health Risk Evaluation of Elevated Fluoride in Groundwater and Its Suitability Assessment for Drinking Purposes Based on Water Quality Index

“…However, surface recharge, water runoff, weathering processes, and industrial effluents can all contribute to increased turbidity in the area’s water system. Furthermore, excessive turbidity can be caused by shallow and poorly designed wells [ 46 ]. The value of HCO 3 − varied between 143 and 532 mg/L, with an average value of 289.5 mg/L, and was beyond the permitted limit of WHO.…”

Analysing Effects on Ground Water Levels Due to Conversion of Rural to Urban Landscapes

“…Land use land cover data has been further analyzed for key land use land cover features classes. Agriculture, built up, forest, barren land and wetland were taken as the key land use land cover features of the area (Ahmad et al, 2021;Lockhart et al, 2013). Most of the subclasses were merged with these key land use land cover classes.…”

“…The work also shows a detailed investigation of the mentioned urban area. The present paper can be an eye-opener for the interdependence of groundwater and urbanisation among urban policy-makers to provide a framework for systematic consideration of groundwater in urban management (Ahmad et al, 2021).…”