Groundwater is a vital natural resource required to satisfy the domestic and agricultural needs. In general, human health is linked to the quality of the consumed water. For instance, long-term exposure to high nitrate levels in groundwater may cause problems. Hence, the present study was conducted to assess the nitrate contamination of groundwater as well as its related health risks for the inhabitants of the Sfax region, Sahel Tunisia. Irrigation groundwater suitability has been evaluated with sodium content (%Na), electrical conductivity (EC), magnesium hazard (MH), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), permeability index (PI), Kelly’s ratio (KR) and soluble sodium percent (SSP). The results indicate that the selected groundwater is characterized by low to moderate quality for irrigation. Furthermore, the drinking water quality index (DWQI) was assessed using potential of hydrogen (pH), total dissolved solids (TDS), magnesium (Mg²⁺), calcium (Ca²⁺), sodium (Na⁺), chloride (Cl⁻), sulfate (SO₄²⁻), potassium (K⁺), bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻) and nitrate (NO₃⁻). The results indicate that 3.63% of samples have good quality of water, while 41.82% have poor to very poor water quality and the rest (54.55%) are unfit for drinking. The nitrate pollution index (NPI) model revealed that about 42% of the samples present significant to very significant type of pollution. Based on human health risk assessment, the children are at higher risks compared to the other affected groups. The obtained results could be used as a basic document for realistic management of groundwater quality and to provide an overview for decision-making authorities to take necessary actions.

地下水是满足家庭和农业需求的重要自然资源。一般来说，人类健康与所消耗水的质量有关。例如，长期暴露在地下水中的高硝酸盐含量可能会导致问题。因此，本研究旨在评估地下水的硝酸盐污染及其对突尼斯萨赫勒地区斯法克斯地区居民的相关健康风险。灌溉地下水适宜性已通过钠含量 (%Na)、电导率 (EC)、镁危害 (MH)、钠吸附率 (SAR)、渗透指数 (PI)、凯利比 (KR) 和可溶性钠百分比 (SSP) 进行评估）。结果表明，所选地下水的灌溉质量为低至中等。此外，²⁺ )、钙 (Ca ²⁺ )、钠 (Na ⁺ )、氯化物 (Cl ^- )、硫酸盐 (SO ₄ ^2- )、钾 (K ⁺ )、碳酸氢盐 (HCO ₃ ^- ) 和硝酸盐 (NO ₃ ^-）。结果表明，3.63%的样本水质良好，41.82%的水质较差至极差，其余（54.55%）不适合饮用。硝酸盐污染指数 (NPI) 模型显示，大约 42% 的样本呈现出显着到非常显着的污染类型。根据人类健康风险评估，与其他受影响的群体相比，儿童面临更高的风险。所得结果可作为地下水质量现实管理的基础文件，并为决策当局采取必要行动提供概述。