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Monitoring and assessment of heavy metal

contamination in surface water of selected rivers

Mohsin Khan, Talha Omer, Asad Ellahi, Zahid Ur Rahman, Rizwan Niaz &
Showkat Ahmad Lone

To cite this article: Mohsin Khan, Talha Omer, Asad Ellahi, Zahid Ur Rahman, Rizwan
Niaz & Showkat Ahmad Lone (2023) Monitoring and assessment of heavy metal
contamination in surface water of selected rivers, Geocarto International, 38:1, 2256313, DOI:
10.1080/10106049.2023.2256313

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/10106049.2023.2256313

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GEOCARTO INTERNATIONAL
2023, VOL. 38, NO. 1, 2256313
https://doi.org/10.1080/10106049.2023.2256313

Monitoring and assessment of heavy metal

contamination in surface water of selected rivers
Mohsin Khana, Talha Omerb, Asad Ellahic,d, Zahid Ur Rahmane, Rizwan Niazd
and Showkat Ahmad Lonef
a
Department of Biological Sciences, Quaid I Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan; bDepartment of
Economics, Finance and Statistics, JIBS, J€onk€oping University, J€onk€oping, Sweden; cDepartment of
Community Medicine, Wah Medical College, National University of Medical Sciences, Rawalpindi,
Pakistan; dDepartment of Statistics, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan; eKey Laboratory of
Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Beijing, China; fDepartment of Basic Sciences, College of Science and Theoretical Studies, Saudi
Electronic University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

The current research aimed to monitor and assess the heavy Received 13 July 2023
metal contamination in the surface water of 53 sampling sites Accepted 1 September 2023
along the selected rivers using principal component analysis and
KEYWORDS
cluster analysis. For this purpose, both physiochemical parameters
Potential toxic metals;
such as the temperature (T), the potential of hydrogen (pH), total health risk indices; river
dissolved solids (TDS) and electroconductivity (EC), and heavy Swat and Panjkora; cluster
metals such as iron (Fe), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), analysis; principal
lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) are analyzed as potential water contam­ component analysis
inants. The average values of pH, TDS, EC and T are found at
7.75, 70.89 mg/L, 139.11 ms/cm and 20.29 � C, respectively, and
heavy metals including Cr, Ni, Cd, Pb, As and Fe are observed at
0.04, 0.04, 0.04, 0.03, 0.001 and 0.04 mg/L, respectively. Moreover,
it is found that in both rivers hazardous metals, including Cr
(100%), Cd (92.30%), Pb (100%), Ni (100%) and Fe (91%), exceed
the permissible limits of the WHO.

1. Introduction
Water is vital for both plant and animal life, due to its importance for various physio­
logical processes and maintaining overall biological functioning (Kormoker et al. 2022;
Sunjida et al. 2016a). Merely 2.5% of the global water supply constitutes freshwater sour­
ces, and there is a growing global apprehension regarding the potential scarcity of high-
quality water resources in the imminent future. Surface water is currently under the stress
of getting various pollutants from various point and non-point sources, which are the
leading causes of water contamination. The swift modifications in surface waters’ physical
and chemical parameters disrupt the ecological equilibrium within aquatic environments,

CONTACT Talha Omer talha.omer@ju.se

� 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by
the author(s) or with their consent.
2 M. KHAN ET AL.

leading to environmental deterioration. These alterations instigate a decline in water qual­

ity, contributing to the contamination of the water resources (Khan et al. 2022). The
environmental importance of river water is undeniable, and contamination is an issue
that affects us all. Rivers serve as significant resources for communities, particularly in
relation to the fishing industry and as a water source for nearby populations. Any form of
river contamination, whether direct or indirect, poses potential risks to human health as
the ultimate consumers. Contaminated water can lead to various types of diseases in the
human body, as water is essential for cellular metabolism and proper functioning (Alam
et al. 2017). River water receives toxic waste effluents that cause serious problems globally
due to their deleterious impacts on aquatic biota (Khanna and Ishaq 2013). Aquatic eco­
systems act as sinks and endpoints of various pollutants (Edward et al. 2012). Since an
adequate amount of clean and safe drinking water is required to maintain a better life
(Sunjida et al. 2016b).
Growing apprehension surrounds the issue of heavy metal pollution in river ecosys­
tems due to their significant societal and ecological implications. While certain heavy met­
als are essential as micronutrients, their presence in concentrations exceeding minimum
requirements can induce toxicity (Dasar et al. 2009). Due to the bioaccumulation, biomag­
nifications, and toxicity of heavy metals in the food chain, heavy metal contamination
causes serious problems (Shams et al. 2013; Sfakianakis et al. 2015). Heavy metals repre­
sent the predominant environmental contaminants, and their occurrence in water signifies
the existence of natural or anthropogenic origins. Heavy metals are commonly released
into river systems from various sources, both natural (such as weathering, soil erosion,
volcanism, precipitation, etc.) and anthropogenic (such as smelting, factory discharges,
mineral processing, domestic waste, agricultural practices, etc.) (Krishna et al. 2009). The
exponential growth in population coupled with the expanding industrial, agricultural and
forestry practices have substantial impacts on the quantity, quality and utilization of water
resources (Kurnaz et al. 2016). These metals have the potential to contaminate river water,
which is extensively utilized for domestic, agricultural and industrial purposes. The bio­
accumulation and biomagnification of heavy metals contribute to their toxic effects, mak­
ing them a significant concern in terms of environmental impact. Aquatic ecosystems
often serve as the ultimate recipients of various pollutants, with urbanization, population
growth, and unregulated waste disposal being key contributing factors. Consequently, the
presence of heavy metal pollution in aquatic environments raises significant concerns
regarding its direct impact on biota and its indirect implications for human health.
Moreover, certain heavy metals, including Cd, Cr, Ni, As, Pb and Fe (in high concentra­
tions), exhibit high toxicity (Zhang et al. 2017). The accumulation of heavy metals in the
adipose tissue and livers of both humans and animals can have detrimental effects on the
nervous, circulatory, and immune systems. Additionally, prolonged storage of certain
heavy metals like Cd and Cr has been found to possess carcinogenic properties
(Bonsignore et al. 2016). Hence, it is imperative to accurately quantify the concentrations
of heavy metals and diligently monitor potential alterations in their levels (Lawson 2011).
Regular analysis of the physicochemical properties and heavy metal concentrations in
freshwater resources is of paramount importance for monitoring fluctuations. The scien­
tific literature contains numerous studies focusing on the contamination of water sources
by heavy metals (Osman and Kloas 2010; Ikem and Adisa 2011; Lu et al. 2013; Khan
et al. 2022). These researchers collectively concluded that regular monitoring of water
quality is necessary. This is since rise concentrations of heavy metals in river water pose
an augmented risk to both human health and agricultural activities.
 GEOCARTO INTERNATIONAL 3

Notably, Pakistan faces a prominent pollution challenge, with waste frequently being
directly dumped into water bodies and land, exacerbating the issue (Mulk et al. 2016).
The presence of profound water pollution and the scarcity of resources pose significant
challenges, necessitating the implementation of water quality-focused monitoring systems
and intelligent water resources management approaches (Khan et al. 2013). Regular ana­
lysis of the physicochemical properties and heavy metal concentrations in freshwater
resources is of paramount importance for monitoring fluctuations. Consequently, the
presence of heavy metal pollution in aquatic environments raises significant concerns
regarding its direct impact on biota and its indirect implications for human health (Khan
et al. 2023). In this study, heavy metals are assessed and spatially distributed using multi­
variate statistical methods and ArcGIS environment on 53 samples from the rivers Swat
and Panjkora. A comprehensive analysis is conducted on a total of ten parameters, com­
prising four physiochemical factors and six heavy metals, to evaluate their potential as
water contaminants and stressors.
Multivariate data analysis approaches can be readily employed to interpret complex
physicochemical and biochemical measurements involving multiple components. These
approaches help to simplify environmental data and facilitate its comprehension (Bilgin
and Konanç 2016). Statistical methodologies, specifically multivariate techniques, exhibit
expertise in addressing the limitations associated with the Water Quality Index (WQI)
and offer substantial value in the reduction of environmental data and interpretation of
multiple parameters. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and Cluster Analysis (CA)
have gained recognition as dependable approaches for extracting information from data
matrices in the context of environmental quality assessments. Notably, PCA and CA are
extensively applied in the field of water quality and heavy metal assessments (Astel et al.
2007). In recent years, multivariate statistical analysis has emerged as one of the foremost
and extensively employed methodologies for analyzing water contamination. PCA has
been employed by researchers to streamline water quality assessment by reducing the
number of parameters involved. Giri and Singh (2014) conducted a study in the
Subarnarekha River, while Mokarram et al. (2022) focused on the Kor River water, Iran.
Both studies utilized PCA to effectively condense the parameter set for water quality
evaluation. Their findings demonstrated that employing PCA to decrease the number of
parameters enhanced the robustness of statistical analyses in heavy metal assessment.
The existing contamination by heavy metals in surface water is a major environmen­
tal issue all over the world. Therefore, in the current research, we aimed to monitor
and assess the heavy metal contamination in the surface water of 53 sampling sites
along the selected rivers (Swat and Panjkora). Water resources in the northern moun­
tainous region of Pakistan were once famous however, contemporary anthropogenic
endeavors have caused a decline in their quality and overall ecological state. For this
purpose, four physiochemical parameters, such as the temperature (T), the potential of
hydrogen (pH), total dissolved solids (TDS), and electroconductivity (EC), and six heavy
metals, such as iron (Fe), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and
arsenic (As), are examined as potential water contaminants and stressors, since both of
these parameters are used for water quality in various literature (Ustao�glu et al. 2017;
Y€uksel et al. 2022; Topaldemir et al. 2023). Moreover, it is found that in both the rivers
the potentially hazardous metals, including Cr (100%), Cd (92.30%), Pb (100%), Ni
(100%) and Fe (91%), are exceeding the permissible limits of the World Health
Organization (WHO).
4 M. KHAN ET AL.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Data and study area
The study is carried out in the rivers Swat and Panjkora, which are located in the eastern
Hindukush region of Pakistan, with the geographical extent of 34� 200 000 N to 35� 400 000 N
latitudes and 71� 200 000 E to 73� 00 000 E longitudes (Figure 1). The catchment areas of both
rivers originate from Alpine Glaciers, where snowmelt contributes to their water flow.
The rivers under consideration play a pivotal role in the provincial economy as they serve
multiple purposes such as irrigation, domestic use and power generation (Khan et al.
2022). Furthermore, they provide a habitat for diverse fish species. However, pollution in
the study regions has led to the depletion of clean water resources. Regrettably, the water
in these rivers is presently facing significant contamination issues originating from various
sources, including hotel waste, marble factories, gas stations, vehicle workshops, inad­
equate sanitation practices, agricultural fertilizer, pesticides, etc. In the present study, the
quality of water is assessed based on both the physiochemical and heavy metals analysis
using multivariate statistical analysis (Khan et al. 2022). The River Swat, is a major flood
prone basin located in the eastern Hindukush region of Pakistan, spanning a length of
288 kilometers, originates from the Seri Kalam Valley and ends at Sardaryab Charsadda
(Nasir et al. 2023). In a similar vein, the river Panjkora extends 150 kilometers, commenc­
ing its journey from Kumrat Valley and eventually converging with the Swat River at the
Bosaq Bridge (Ullah and Zhang 2020). These rivers traverse through the regions of Swat,
Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Malakand and Mohmand districts, ultimately merging with the
River Kabul at Charsadda district. At the northern origin, the river’s altitude is approxi­
mately 5800 m, decreasing gradually up to 500 m downstream (Nasir et al. 2020). Both of
these rivers are fed by snow-covered mountain and glaciers in the northern counterpart,
as well as the comprehensive drainage of their respective catchment areas (Khan et al.
2023).

Figure 1. Study area map.

 GEOCARTO INTERNATIONAL 5

2.2. Water sample collection, preparation, and physiochemical analysis

Table 1 provides detailed descriptions and geographical positions of all the sampling
sites located along both rivers. These visual aids offer valuable insights into the terres­
trial locations and characteristics of the sites under consideration. Triplicate water sam­
ples are collected for both physiochemical and heavy metals analysis, and temporarily

Table 1. Sampling location points names and coordinates.

Sample Cd Cr Pb Ni Fe As EC TDS Temp
S.No Name (mg/L) (mg/L) (mg/L) (mg/L) (mg/L) (mg/L) pH (mS/Cm) (mg/L) (CO)
1 Kalam 0.025 0.021 0.032 0.045 0.047 0.002 7.4 44 24 17.5
2 Harianai 0.015 0.012 0.043 0.045 0.042 0.001 7.5 40 23 17.4
3 Laikot 0.023 0.027 0.012 0.032 0.037 0.001 7.8 54 25 19.5
4 Athan 0.035 0.034 0.031 0.036 0.037 0 7.8 59 26 17.7
5 Mankyal 0.023 0.054 0.023 0.029 0.038 0.001 7.7 76 36 17.3
6 Chodgram 0.03 0.023 0.025 0.029 0.029 0 7.6 79 37 17.5
7 Kedam watefall 0.045 0.014 0.045 0.048 0.048 0.001 7.4 49 27 16.3
8 Ponkia 0.042 0.045 0.021 0.047 0.042 0.002 7.7 91 41 17.3
9 Bahrain 0.037 0.017 0.014 0.036 0.031 0 7.9 103 52 17.1
10 Malang stop 0.019 0.054 0.051 0.054 0.057 0.002 7.7 72 39 17
11 Madyan 0.011 0.035 0.037 0.039 0.034 0.002 7.7 171 81 20.1
12 Bishgram 0.034 0.046 0.041 0.045 0.041 0.001 7.4 73 43 17
13 Tirat 0.045 0.015 0.019 0.034 0.037 0.001 7.7 71 39 19
14 Qandeel 0.054 0.023 0.029 0.023 0.032 0 7.4 79 47 18
15 kalakot 0.034 0.047 0.041 0.046 0.045 0.001 8.6 101 60 21.1
16 Asharay 0.028 0.017 0.015 0.053 0.056 0.002 8.6 119 56 21.9
17 Tekdarai 0.043 0.045 0.034 0.038 0.038 0 7.7 77 47 18
18 Bara Bamakhela 0.037 0.039 0.034 0.047 0.044 0 7.7 114 45 21
19 Chota Kalam 0.021 0.029 0.024 0.042 0.043 0 7.9 145 51 13
20 Fizagat 0.032 0.037 0.037 0.038 0.032 0.002 8.3 56 23 14.1
21 Airport road pul 0.021 0.028 0.025 0.043 0.045 0 8.1 221 99 13
22 Matta 0.028 0.025 0.027 0.056 0.053 0.001 8 209 133 13.5
23 Dadahara Park 0.042 0.047 0.041 0.048 0.043 0.002 7.9 193 92 12.7
24 Barikot 0.043 0.043 0.046 0.043 0.043 0.002 7.9 172 101 12.5
25 Shamozai 0.036 0.032 0.037 0.038 0.033 0 7.5 187 97 13
26 Chakdara Fort 0.027 0.029 0.025 0.034 0.033 0.002 7.4 176 85 12.9
27 Barchaman 0.046 0.044 0.041 0.045 0.043 0.002 7.7 71 45 13.2
28 Tari 0.047 0.04 0.042 0.047 0.044 0.001 7.8 134 71 13.2
29 Qala 0.056 0.045 0.048 0.048 0.048 0.001 7.8 145 76 16
30 Bajauar 0.048 0.043 0.042 0.046 0.043 0.001 7.9 149 94 15.3
31 Bajaur2 0.045 0.048 0.041 0.042 0.042 0 7.9 131 89 15.8
32 Mohmand 1 0.075 0.073 0.043 0.043 0.041 0.002 8 101 50 23
33 Mohmand 2 0.024 0.027 0.012 0.039 0.036 0 7.6 259 123 27.1
34 Mazid Khel 0.039 0.037 0.031 0.036 0.033 0 7.5 107 54 27
35 Abazai 0.048 0.046 0.032 0.039 0.036 0 7.6 97 42 26.9
36 Hassan Zai 0.054 0.053 0.051 0.054 0.054 0.001 7.8 79 39 27
37 Dildar Garhi 0.038 0.039 0.036 0.039 0.037 0 7.9 151 66 27
38 Daulat Pura 0.026 0.029 0.027 0.048 0.043 0.001 7.7 179 87 27.2
39 Sardaryab 0.038 0.035 0.039 0.041 0.047 0.001 7.8 88 40 27.2
40 Bosaq Bridge 0.048 0.044 0.041 0.047 0.044 0.001 7.8 90 42 27.7
41 Zulam pul 0.054 0.051 0.054 0.051 0.054 0 7.4 148 63 27
42 Qalagai 0.028 0.029 0.021 0.029 0.027 0.001 7.4 166 79 27.5
43 Odigram kato 0.029 0.025 0.027 0.039 0.034 0 7.6 176 77 26.7
44 Malak Abad 0.019 0.016 0.016 0.043 0.046 0 7.9 184 90 25.9
45 Dogram 0.065 0.056 0.045 0.044 0.047 0 7.8 92 50 27.7
46 Sahib Abad 0.054 0.053 0.051 0.054 0.052 0 7.8 243 119 27.3
47 Darora 0.043 0.042 0.045 0.048 0.043 0.001 7.9 154 89 27.6
48 Gandigar 0.039 0.037 0.034 0.054 0.054 0.002 7.9 276 145 27.7
49 Bibyawar 0.027 0.028 0.022 0.032 0.035 0.001 7.8 309 193 27.7
50 Chutiatan 0.049 0.057 0.051 0.051 0.056 0.001 8.1 211 107 17.3
51 Sheringal 0.025 0.021 0.028 0.028 0.026 0.002 7.4 245 113 17.1
52 Biar 0.048 0.043 0.045 0.041 0.047 0.001 7.3 281 149 17
53 Thal 0.043 0.04 0.042 0.043 0.044 0 7.3 276 136 13
6 M. KHAN ET AL.

stored at 4 � C in a refrigerator before being transferred to the centralized resource

laboratory at the University of Peshawar, Pakistan, for further analysis of heavy metals.
A total of fifty-three samples (n ¼ 53) are collected in replicates from fifty-three different
sites from both the rivers following an approximately equal distance difference between
the samples. To ascertain the spatial distribution of physiochemical parameters and
heavy metals across the river, a Global Positioning System (GPS) is employed to record
the precise geographical coordinates of each sampling point. Precleaned polythene bot­
tles are used for sampling collection, and a total of 250 ml of water from each sampling
site are collected for heavy metals analysis. In the field, portable instruments are utilized
for conducting on-site analyses of pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids
(TDS) and temperature. Acetylene flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Perkin
Elmer AAS 700, USA) were used for heavy metals analysis using duplicates for control
and quality assurance using certified reference materials (CRM 700) (Yuksel and Arica
2018; Y€ uksel et al. 2021), with each batch of water samples and reagent blanks (Alam
et al. 2017).

2.3. Cluster analysis (CA)

The primary purpose of cluster analysis is to assemble objects based on their characteristics
by applying the Euclidean distance, which represents the difference between the analytical
values of samples, frequently implies the similarity between each two samples (Pejman et al.
2009). Among various clustering methods, Ward’s approach is the most widely applied clus­
ter method. In this work, the normalized data set is subjected to hierarchical agglomerative
CA using Ward’s approach, in which the mean of the case is used to replace for missing data.
(Hajigholizadeh and Melesse 2017), since CA is one of the powerful techniques to group the
cases for hierarchical agglomerative clustering (Willett 1987). Additionally, squared
Euclidean distance is used in CA processes as a measure of similarity between two separate
parameters. It is more frequently utilized than a standard Euclidean distance because it can
change the significance of big distances and diminish the significance of short distances
(Hajigholizadeh and Melesse 2017). Then, using a relative linkage distance of Dlink/Dmax,
where Dlink is the linkage distance between each two samples and Dmax is the maximum
linkage distance, it is possible to determine the spatial variability of water quality over the
entire network of rivers. The connectivity distance is then normalized by multiplying the
quotient by 100 (Alberto et al. 2001).

2.4. Principal component analysis (PCA)

Principle component analysis (PCA) can minimize the dimensionality of the data set
without significantly reducing the amount of information by explaining the link among
multiple random uncorrelated environmental variables in terms of a limited number of
underlying elements or principle components (Vega et al. 1998). The PCs are uncorre­
lated with one another, and each PC has a strong correlation with particular variables
that each represent a particular dimension of the water quality (Zhao et al. 2011).
Additionally, PC recommends data on the most important factors, which characterize
an entire data collection and allow for data reduction with the minimum loss of ori­
ginal information (Helena et al. 2000). In this study, PCA is carried out using XLSTAT
2019.2.2, which by default uses the appropriate matrix of variables. Since the correlation
coefficient is a standardized statistic, the PCA procedure incorporates a standardized
procedure.
 GEOCARTO INTERNATIONAL 7

Figure 2. Distribution of physiochemical characteristics of rivers. (a) Potential of hydrogen, (b) Electroconductivity,
(c) Total dissolved solids, and (d) Temperature.

2.5. Statistical analysis and geospatial mapping

Based on obtained statistical analyzed data of both rivers, the characteristic of physio­
chemical and heavy metals is spatially distributed with the help of the kriging tool in the
ArcMap 10.8 environment (Figures 2 and 3). The interpolated values of factors are sym­
bolized with a stretch (Low to High) along a color ramp for the better visualization. The
8 M. KHAN ET AL.

Figure 3. Heavy metal distribution. (a) Cd, (b) Cr, (c) Pb, (d) Ni, (e) Fe, and (f) As.

spatial distribution of suspended and dissolved factors in the Swat and Panjkora rivers
exhibits substantial variability across different sites.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Water quality classification
Water quality is vital for both the environment and humans health since polluted water
have deleterious impacts on aquatic ecosystems (Carbajal-Hern�andez et al. 2013; Xu et al.
 GEOCARTO INTERNATIONAL 9

2017). Due to its importance, Khan et al. (2022) recently conducted a study of water con­
tamination in varying locations. However, the selected locations did not present the over­
all water contamination of the selected revisers. Therefore, it was needed to enhance the
sample size to address the problem of water contamination. Hence, the current study is
conducted to overcome the problem and highlight the clarity of water contamination on
varying places. Two vital rivers of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are analyzed for heavy metals
analysis and compare their pollution states. Overall, both the rivers are contaminated with
heavy metals due to illicit digging for construction purposes, vehicle dust, hoteling, dump­
ing of waste, agriculture runoff, industrial and hospital wastes, etc. Comparison of rivers
water quality is rarely evaluated, and hence, to our best knowledge, this study is done for
the first time to compared both the selected rivers water quality covering whole rivers
through maximize the sample size (53 samples). The present study variates from previous
studies as spatial interpolation were applied for few samples in previous studies to analyse
the contamination status. Based on spatial interpolation both the selected rivers are thor­
oughly analyzed maximizing the sample size. In River Swat water samples, Cd, Cr, Pb, As
Fe and Ni were reported in the range of 0.011–0.075, 0.012–0.073, 0.012–0.054, 0.00–
0.002, 0.027-0.057 and 0.023-0.054 mg/L, respectively. It is observed that sewage site,
hoteling, populated and industrialized sites were mostly polluted, whereas the minimum
values were found at the non populates, non-congested areas. All the metals analyzed
were significantly higher at every site, indicating the pollution status of river Swat. Besides
the heavy metals analysis, physiochemical parameters were also analyzed such as pH, EC,
TDS and temperature. The pH ranges from 7.4 to 8.6, the EC range from 40 to 309
ms/cm, and the TDS range from 23 to 193 mg/L.
In River Panjkora water samples, Cd, Cr, Pb, As Fe and Ni were reported in the range
of 0.021–0.056, 0.025–0.048, 0.024–0.048, 0.00–0.002, 0.032–0.053, and 0.034-0.048 mg/L,
respectively. The pollutions at sewage site, hoteling, populated and industrialized sites,
whereas the minimum values are found at the non populates non-congested areas. In all
the water samples, all the metals analyzed are significantly higher at every sites. This indi­
cates the extreme pollution of heavy metals in River Panjkora. Besides the heavy metals
analysis some of the physiochemical analysis is also performed, such as pH, EC, TDS and
temperature. The pH ranges from 7.4 to 8.3, the EC range from 56 to 193 ms/cm, the
TDS range from 23 to 133 mg/L. Overall, in our study, the concentration of metals
observed are higher than the world health organization guidelines represent in Table 1,
indicating the pollution in both the rivers is due to agriculture, municipal sewage and dir­
ect dumping from the adjacent cities and villages but variation in metals concentration
occurred due to seasons (Aktan and Tekin-Ozan € 2012; Mulk et al. 2015). A higher con­
centration of Cd is observed in both the studied rivers 37.33 and 37.78 lg/L, respectively;
previously, a higher concentration of Cd (61.74 lg/L) was observed in Hui River China

Table 2. Pearson correlation values in River Swat and River Panjkora, Pakistan.
Variables pH EC TDS Temp Cd Cr Pb Ni Fe As
pH 1.00
EC 0.05 1.00
TDS 0.01 0.96 1.00
Temp 0.13 0.34 0.28 1.00 0.18
Cd 0.01 0.08 0.03 0.18 1.00
Cr 0.16 0.00 0.01 0.14 0.60 1.00
Pb 0.05 0.04 0.00 0.05 0.54 0.64 1.00
Ni 0.35 0.09 0.10 0.04 0.22 0.34 0.53 1.00
Fe 0.32 0.07 0.09 0.09 0.25 0.34 0.50 0.88 1.00
As 0.09 0.02 0.06 0.30 0.19 0.01 0.21 0.00 0.15 1.00
10 M. KHAN ET AL.

Table 3. Principal component analysis results of surface water (n ¼ 53) collected from Swat and Dir, Pakistan.
F1 F2 F3 F4
pH 0.27 0.15 0.63 0.12
EC 0.12 0.95 0.13 0.18
TDS 0.17 0.93 0.13 0.16
Temp 0.23 0.51 0.42 0.29
Cd 0.63 0.15 0.47 0.26
Cr 0.73 0.14 0.22 0.43
Pb 0.80 0.16 0.25 0.14
Ni 0.80 0.03 0.46 0.17
Fe 0.80 0.03 0.37 0.30
As 0.22 0.12 0.49 0.71
Eigenvalue 3.07 2.14 1.54 1.05
Variability (%) 30.74 21.44 15.37 10.54
Cumulative % 30.74 52.18 67.56 78.10

Table 4. Comparison of heavy metals concentrations (lg/L) in river water in River Swat and River Panjkora with
other rivers in the world.
Rivers Cd Cr Pb Fe Ni As References
River Swat (Mean value) 37.33 36.15 33.48 41.71 41.58 0.82 In this study
River Panjkora (Mean value) 37.78 37.78 36.42 42.07 44.07 1 In this study
Hui river China 61.74 23.08 155 441 46.19 – (Wang et al. 2017)
River in CLP 0.031 5.13 0.251 45.4 5.37 5.75 (Xiao et al. 2019)
Upper Han River, China 2.31 8.14 9.26 30.6 1.71 14.20 (Li and Zhang 2010a; Li
and Zhang 2010b)
Xiangjiang River, China 1.34 6.61 1.47 – – 12.24 (Zeng et al. 2015)
Changjiang River, China 0.28 8.90 6.40 1660 3.69 7.04 (Wang et al. 2011)
Trinity River, USA 0.008 – 0.026 5.8 2.07 – (Warnken and Santschi 2009)
Seine River, France 0.031 0.354 0.75 (Elbaz-Poulichet et al. 2006)
Hawkesbury-Nepean 0.045 – 0.111 268 0.26 – (Markich and Brown 1998)
River, Australia
Catalan River, Spain 1.20 2.40 2.200 – 2.70 2.90 (Carafa et al. 2011)
Tigris River, Turkey 0.103 <5 0.342 388 45.00 2.35 (Varol and Şen 2012)
Damodar River, India 9 16 10 – 52 – (Pal and Maiti 2019)

(Wang et al. 2017). Other heavy metals such as Cr, Pb, and Ni are also observed at higher
concentrations in this study, which closely resemble a previous reported study (Wang
et al. 2017). The concentration of Fe detected in this study is higher from previous studies
(Warnken and Santschi 2009; Li and Zhang 2010a; 2010b), similar to Xiao et al. (2019)
and lower than (Markich and Brown 1998; Wang et al. 2011; Varol and Şen 2012; Wang
et al. 2017).

3.2. Multi-statistical analysis

3.2.1. Principal component analysis (PCA)
The relationship between heavy metals and physiochemical factors can be used to antici­
pate key details like the pathways for these pollutants’ emissions and their origin. The
correlation matrix for the heavy metals and physiochemical parameters is determined
using Pearson’s correlation coefficients and is displayed in Table 2. The correlation con­
stant (r) value reveals how usefully and significantly the water samples are grouped in a
straightforward line (Table 3). Since we are working in remote Alpine Glacial Lakes, the
main sources of these heavy metals in the water may have come from long-range atmos­
pheric transport, local rock weathering, local grazing of cows and sheep and nearby wild­
fires. However, because Swat and Dir are both agricultural areas and because agricultural
 GEOCARTO INTERNATIONAL 11

Figure 4. (a) Loading factor. (b) First initial factors F1, and F2.

runoff directly enters river water, it is possible that the use of inorganic, nitrogenous, and
phosphate fertilizers as well as animal manures are the sources of the contamination of
rivers. One of the main causes of the release of heavy metals into the ambient environ­
ment is the burning of coal and other fuels, including wood, rubber, tires, and other plas­
tic debris in brick kilns (Khanoranga and Khalid 2019). To determine the sources of
heavy metals in water samples, the PCA was used (Y€ uksel et al. 2023). A multivariate
dataset’s dimensionality was intended to be reduced using PCA into a smaller number of
components that describe and explain most of the data’s information. The PCA was
effective and the nonidentity matrix for the research, as indicated by the Kaiser-Meyer-
Olkin KMO test value for water of 0.470 and the high significance of Bartlett’s sphericity
test of p < 0.0001 (Varol 2011). A maximum of four (4) components with eigenvalues (k)
12 M. KHAN ET AL.

Figure 5. Dendrogram showing clustering of sampling stations River Swat and River Panjkora water quality features.

Table 5. Descriptive statistics of trace elements collected from River Swat and River Panjkora water District Swat,
Pakistan.
Statistic Minimum Maximum Mean SD WHO
pH 7.30 8.60 7.75 0.28 6.5–8.5
EC 40.00 309.00 139.11 70.25 1500
TDS 23.00 193.00 70.89 38.01 1
Temp 12.50 27.70 20.29 5.61 –
Cd (mg/L) 0.01 0.08 0.04 0.01 0.02
Cr (mg/L) 0.01 0.07 0.04 0.01
Pb (mg/L) 0.01 0.05 0.03 0.01 0.003
Ni (mg/L) 0.02 0.06 0.04 0.01 0.02
Fe (mg/L) 0.03 0.06 0.04 0.01 0.01
As (mg/L) 0.001 0.002 0.001 0.001

> 1.0 from the PCA of the entire dataset accounted for 78.10% of the variance overall
(Table 4). Varimax rotation is used to maximize the sum of variances of the factor coeffi­
cients, which better describes the potential influences on heavy metals. On the basis of
the Kaiser criterion having an eigenvalue greater than 1, the number of prominent main
components was taken into consideration (Kaiser 1960).
The number of PCs is determined using the scree plot (Figure 4). The component plot
in the circulates form of principal component analysis is displayed in Figure 5(b). The
factor loadings, cumulative percentage and percentage of variance are explained by each
factor as given in Table 4 with the component plot. A loading of greater than 0.70 corre­
lates that Cr, Ni, Pb and Fe are linked with the first component (varifactor) of the PCA,
which accounts for 30.70% of the total variance. The first varifactor VF1 shows the
strength of the hydrochemical parameters, which indicates that heavy metals dominate
the factor loading contribution. The second varifactor (VF2) is strongly correlated with
high loadings (>0.90) which is mainly participated by EC, and TDS, since 21.44% of total
variance is explained by the second varifactor (VF2). It was noteworthy that anthropo­
genic activities such industrial operations, the use of agrofertilizers, and the commercial
and electroplating sectors could be linked to the high levels of certain physiochemical
 GEOCARTO INTERNATIONAL 13

parameters (Gao et al. 2019). The third varifactor (VF3), which measures the impact of
pH, showed that its loading value is larger than 0.60, indicating that the research area’s
water quality is influenced by both natural and anthropogenic sources. Significant loading
for as (>0.60) is seen in the fourth varifactor (VF4). This element may facilitate as dissol­
ution in the water aquifers under study. In order to understand the underlying data struc­
ture, the Scree plot is utilized to determine how many PCs could be kept appropriately
(Vega et al. 1998). The Scree plot in the present study displayed a noticeable shift in slope
after the fourth Eigenvalue. Through FA on the PCs, equal numbers of VFs were pro­
duced for two sites. Table 4 displays the corresponding VFs, variable loadings, and the
variance explained. The factor loadings are categorized by Liu et al. (2003) (Liu et al.
2003) as ‘strong’, ‘moderate’, and ‘weak’, respectively, with absolute loading values of
>0.8, 0.8–0.50, and 0.50–0.30 since the majority of the hydrochemical factors specially
heavy metals showed similar behaviour. Ion exchange, water-rock interaction, and
anthropogenic sources are the sources of these variables. Fluorite, mica, biotite, and mus­
covite are some of the minerals that weather in rock and become the source of Fe in sur­
face water. While other heavy metals come from anthropogenic causes and weathering,
they are pollutants in the nearby agriculture along the river. Therefore, factor F1 reflects
the contaminant’s anthropogenic and geogenic sources.

3.2.2. Cluster analysis

To group the sampling stations with similar water quality physiognomies, spatial clus­
ter analysis (CA) is used. The eight (53) sampling locations are divided into three
(3) clusters according to a dendrogram created by CA and grouped based on statis­
tically significant clusters in a distant connection (Dlink/Dmax) � 100. A squared
Euclidian distance and hierarchical clustering in accordance with Ward’s approach
were both achieved (Varol et al. 2012; Hamil et al. 2017; Fathi et al. 2018). Based
on CA results which are significant due to the clusters that are formed shared simi­
lar identifying characteristics as well as patterns of land use and reducing the cluster­
ing error in the freshwater data using hierarchical agglomerative clustering derived by
factor scores. As a result, less polluted, polluted, and seriously polluted cluster classi­
fications are created using cluster analysis on the freshwater data since between the
classes variability is 22.85% and within class variability is 77.15%. The distance
between the class centroid for the least polluted class in cluster C1 is (0, 81.499,
108.787). For the moderately polluted cluster C2, the distance between the class cen­
troid is (81.499, 0, 28.242) and for cluster C3’s severe polluted are (108.787, 28.242
and 0). River Swat water samples are represented by clusters C1 (11), C2(22) and
C3(20). A total of 11 and 22 water samples are present in C1 and C2, from Swat
and Panjkora river, respectively, and twenty samples from the rivers Swat and
Panjkora are included in class C3. Observation 10, 37 and 24 represent water data
centralized objects for three cluster analysis such as C1, C2 and C3 respectively. The
average concentrations values observed in the present study for class C1 for pH, EC,
TDS, temperature, Fe, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, As were (7.7, 72.0, 39.0, 17.0, 0.06, 0.02, 0.05,
0.05, 0.05 and 0.002 mg/L, respectively) as well as for C2 the concentrations values
are (7.9, 151.0, 66.0, 27.0. 0.037, 0.038, 0.039, 0.039, 0.036 and 000 mg/L, respectively)
in the water samples. The average concentrations values for C3 were (7.9, 172, 101,
12.5, 0.043, 0.043, 0.043, 0.043,0.046 and 0.002 mg/L, respectively) in the present
study. Overall, both the rivers water is categorized as severely polluted, polluted and
less polluted (Table 5).
14 M. KHAN ET AL.

3.3. Spatial distribution of elements over the rivers

The spatial distribution of four physiochemical properties and six heavy metals demon­
strates a non-uniform pattern across both rivers, indicating variations in their dispersion
and concentration levels. The pH levels in the rivers are observed to be generally low to
moderate, however, the highest recorded pH values are found in the Kalakot and Asharay
regions (Samples 15 and 16). The EC in the northern section of the River Swat exhibits a
notably low value. Conversely, in the middle region of the River Panjkora, a higher EC value
is recorded. Moving downstream along both rivers, the EC values demonstrate a moderate
range. Similarly, as EC, the highest TDS is recorded in the northern counterpart of the
Panjkora River, whereas the low and moderate TDS is recorded in the river swat and south­
ern part of Panjkora. In Panjkora River, the lowest temperature is recorded in the origin of
the river and gradually increasing in temperature is recorded down the stream. Whereas in
river swat moderate temperature is recorded in the northern part, the lowest temperature is
recorded in the middle, while the highest temperature is noted in the southern part.
Among the 53 sites, the maximum Cd concentration can be seen down near the junction
of both rivers (Samples 30–32). While the minimum Cd can be seen in the northern origin
part of the swat river. The river Panjkora has more concentration of Cd than the river swat.
Similarly, to Cd, the highest concentration of Cr can be observed near the confluence of
both rivers (Samples 30–32). Conversely, the low concentration of Cr is found in the north­
ern part of the Swat River. The river Panjkora possesses a significantly higher concentration
of Cr in comparison to River Swat. The concentration of Cr gradually increased throughout
the flow of water of the river. The Cr concentration is different down the stream, indicating
the lower part of the river is Cr polluted. Lower parts of the river Kabul and almost the
whole Panjkora river are the highest Pb contaminated site. Further, it can be presumed that
the river Panjkora is more Pb polluted, and it contributes Pb pollution to the river Kabul.
Ni concentrations are lowest in the northern part of the river swat, and moderately concen­
trated in the river Panjkora and lower part of the river Swat. The concentration of Fe is
lower and moderate in the entire river swat, whereas the middle of the central part of river
Panjkora River is highly concentrated. In contrast, the northern river swat is highly concen­
trated, whereas the central river Panjkora and lower river swat are lowly concentrated.
Overall, Cd, Cr, Pb, Ni, and Fe concentrations in the river Panjkora ranged from moderate
to high. However, the river Swat contains high and moderate concentrations of As. From
the spatial analysis, it can be concluded that the entire river Panjkora and downstream of
the river swat are heavy metal polluted. Since heavy metals are non-degradable and not
decomposable, they are likely to persist in the water flow over time.

4. Conclusion
The existing contamination by heavy metals in surface water is a foremost environmental
concern over the globe. Thus, the current research monitors and assesses the heavy metal
contamination in the surface water of 53 sampling sites along the selected rivers (Swat and
Panjkora). The selected Rivers Swat and Panjkora, which are characterized by a cold cli­
mate and blue alpine glacier water, but currently facing pollution problems due to a variety
of chemical pollutants, especially heavy metals. This study investigates the hydrochemistry
of dissolved heavy metals in river water. The elevated heavy metal hazard in this region is
mostly responsible for the poor river water quality, and the primary contaminants in river
water are Cd, Cr, Pb, Ni and Fe. Cd, Pb, Cr and Ni are the main contaminants for human
health in the health risk assessment, especially for children. The outcomes derived from the
 GEOCARTO INTERNATIONAL 15

multivariate statistical analysis of each factor are spatially distributed across the river sys­
tem to enhance visual representation and interpretation. Moreover, in this study both the
largest rivers of the northern area of Pakistan are analyzed for heavy metals analysis and
their results are compared. However, sediments and aquatic biota analysis of both the riv­
ers are skipped. It is recommended that in future the pollution status of both the rivers are
analyzed based on sediments and biota samples, which will give a clear insight of the pollu­
tion status of these rivers. The quality of the water and the subsequent risk to human
health were frequently ignored in the River Swat and River Panjkora due to economic limi­
tations and a lack of awareness of water safety. Development of contamination control
management at these relevant locations is required, or search for new, high-quality water
sources, particularly for agricultural uses. Effective health education for heavy pollution in
river Swat and river Panjkora, as well as a long-term monitoring program for heavy metals
and other potential constituents in surface water is required.

Authors contribution
All authors contributed equally.

Availability of data and codes

The data and codes used for the preparation of the manuscript is available with the corresponding author
and can be provided upon request.

Consent to participate
All authors voluntarily agreed to participate in this research.

Consent to publish
All authors are agreed to for publication, there is no legal constraint in publishing the data used in the
manuscript.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethical statement
All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards with the Helsinki Declaration of
1975, as revised in 2000.

ORCID
Rizwan Niaz http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8959-7680

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