Spatial variation of health risk of groundwater for drinking water supply in Mingshan County, Ya'an City, China

Rural drinking water safety is a growing concern in China. This study investigated the health risk of pollution of groundwater for the drinking water supply in Mingshan County, Ya'an City, in Sichuan Province, China, using 46 samples from the years 1991 to 2010. Carcinogenic, non-carcinogenic, and total risks were assessed by the model recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). Thematic maps of the risks caused by single and multiple factors were generated from inverse distance weighting interpolation (IDW) and the geostatistical analysis functions of ArcGIS. The results show that the carcinogenic risks caused by chemicals in groundwater for drinking water supply are low, within the acceptable interval for risk management. However, non-carcinogenic risks are high and the number of sampling sites with risk values exceeding the standards amounted to 29. Non-carcinogenic risks of Cr6+, nitrate, fluoride, and Fe at sites 43, 46, 50, 64, 67, and 74 were the sources that caused high total health risk. This study reveals the risk level of groundwater quality and orders of treatment of pollutants, and provides a scientific basis for groundwater management in this area.