Is road-side fishpond water in Bangladesh safe for human use? An assessment using water quality indices

Pond water is used in everyday life by many people in Bangladesh, however, without sufficient and reliable information regarding water quality and pollution status. For this reason, geospatial analysis and mapping of water quality indices such as metal (MI), contamination (Cd), and physicochemical water quality index (WQI) were assessed to improve the understanding of potential pollution sources. Samples were collected from twenty randomly selected ponds situated in Jashore Sadar Upazila, Bangladesh. Nineteen (19) water quality parameters were measured, including pH, temperature, EC, TDS, total suspended solids (TSS), chloride, alkalinity, total hardness, salinity, Fe, Mn, Pb, Cr, Cd, Co, Zn, Ag, Ni, and Cu. The average concentration of Fe, Mn, Pb, Cd, and Ag was much higher than recommended standards. The WQI ranged from 1.59-5.27, Cd from -0.19-18.28, and MI from 7.81-26.28. The spatial distribution of MI indicates that the south-western and south-eastern region of the study area are stands out with a very high pollution pressure. The spatial distribution of Cd, follows the same trend as for MI. A multitude of different types of pollution sources contributes to the high pollution load such as, municipal wastewater, leachate from landfills, small industry wastewater and stormwater, and agricultural runoff. The studied pond water is highly polluted and not suitable for household use and fish consumption.