Groundwater quality evaluation using groundwater quality index, ecological risk index, and health risk assessment in selected areas in Selangor

Groundwater quality evaluation is important because there are many people in the world using groundwater as their main water supply. Therefore, this people need quality assurance to ensure that their water and clean and safe for consumption to prevent adverse effects to their health. This research focus on some areas in Selangor, Malaysia, as the study area. Three groundwater quality evaluation method has been conducted by the author including, groundwater quality index, ecological risk index, and health risk assessment. The groundwater quality index categorized the overall quality of groundwater, the ecological risk index identifies the potential impact of heavy metals analyzed on the environment, and the health risk assessment evaluates the health impact of heavy metals exposure due to groundwater consumption. It was found that more than half of the water samples are in the good quality category as 7 out 12 samples showing index score in the range of 70 to 89. Moreover, the ecological risk index depicts that there was no or little ecological impact of the heavy metals as all the samples having an index score of less than 1. Furthermore, it was concluded that drinking the groundwater is safe for health, which has been proven by the results from the health risk assessment as the hazard index was lower than 1. Overall, the quality of groundwater in Selangor is safe and clean, but with only few areas needing some improvement.