Waterborne diseases have become one of the major public health concerns worldwide. This study is aimed to investigate and develop spatial distribution mapping of the potable water quality parameters in the city of Peshawar, Pakistan. A total of 108 water samples collected across the entire study area were subjected to physio-chemical and biological analyses. Tested parameters included pH, turbidity, temperature, fluoride concentration levels, and bacterial counts (faecal coliforms). Inverse distance weighting (IDW) interpolation in geographic information systems (GIS) was used for spatial analysis. Test results revealed that 48% of water samples had faecal coliforms count (per 100 mL) greater than World Health Organization (WHO) minimum limits, while 31% of samples had fluoride concentrations in excess of the WHO maximum guide values. Spatial distribution mapping was developed for faecal coliforms count and fluoride ion concentration using ArcGIS to highlight the high-risk settlements in the study area. Results showed that around 20% area under faecal coliforms and approximately 33% area based on fluoride concentrations fall under the need for treatment category. The pH and turbidity were found in compliance with WHO desirable limits. The sanitary inspection score significantly depicted that ineffective multi-barrier approaches consequently deteriorated the water quality at the consumer’s end. Findings from the present study shall be useful to policymakers for adopting necessary remedial measures before it severely affects public health.

中文翻译：

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在巴基斯坦白沙瓦使用空间插值法评估饮用水质量并确定水源性腹泻和氟中毒健康风险区域

水传播疾病已成为全球主要的公共卫生问题之一。本研究旨在调查和开发巴基斯坦白沙瓦市饮用水质量参数的空间分布图。在整个研究区域收集的总共 108 个水样进行了理化和生物分析。测试参数包括 pH 值、浊度、温度、氟化物浓度水平和细菌计数（粪便大肠菌群）。地理信息系统 (GIS) 中的反距离加权 (IDW) 插值用于空间分析。测试结果显示，48% 的水样的粪便大肠菌群计数（每 100 毫升）高于世界卫生组织 (WHO) 的最低限度，而 31% 的样本的氟化物浓度超过了 WHO 的最高指导值。使用 ArcGIS 绘制了粪便大肠菌群计数和氟离子浓度的空间分布图，以突出研究区域内的高风险聚居地。结果显示，大约 20% 的粪便大肠菌群面积和大约 33% 的基于氟化物浓度的面积属于需要处理类别。发现 pH 值和浊度符合 WHO 的理想限值。卫生检查分数显着表明无效的多屏障方法导致消费者端的水质恶化。本研究的结果将有助于决策者在严重影响公共卫生之前采取必要的补救措施。