The Dwars River in Limpopo Province, South Africa is being affected by anthropogenic activities such as mining, agriculture and human settlement in its catchment. The objectives of the study were to assess trace metal pollution, to determine possible sources of pollutants in the river and the potential impact on the ecosystem, aquatic biota and humans. Water and sediment samples were collected and analyzed for the following selected metals: Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn. The enrichment factor (EF) and geo-accumulation index (I_geo) were used to determine the extent of trace metal pollution in the sediments. The concentrations of Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Zn in the Dwars River sediments were much higher than the average shale values, which indicated that the contamination of these metals might be caused by human activities. The enrichment factor (EF) results showed that Cr and Ni accumulated to severe enriched level, while the Igeo results indicated that Cr, Mn, Ni and Zn were strongly contaminated in the sediments. The main sources of pollutants in the area were mining, wastewater/sewage and agricultural discharges. This may pose a serious threat to the aquatic biota and potential human health risk. It is therefore recommended that proper management strategies should be taken to minimize the impact of these metals on the river.

南非林波波省的 Dwars 河正受到流域内采矿、农业和人类住区等人为活动的影响。该研究的目的是评估痕量金属污染，确定河流中污染物的可能来源以及对生态系统、水生生物群和人类的潜在影响。收集水和沉积物样品并分析以下选定金属：Cr、Cu、Fe、Mn、Ni、Pb 和 Zn。富集因子 (EF) 和地累积指数 (I _geo) 被用来确定沉积物中痕量金属污染的程度。Dwars River 沉积物中 Cr、Fe、Mn、Ni 和 Zn 的浓度远高于页岩平均值，表明这些金属的污染可能是由人类活动造成的。富集因子(EF)结果表明Cr和Ni积累到严重富集水平，而I geo结果表明Cr、Mn、Ni和Zn在沉积物中受到严重污染。该地区的主要污染物来源是采矿、废水/污水和农业排放。这可能对水生生物群和潜在的人类健康构成严重威胁。因此，建议采取适当的管理策略，以尽量减少这些金属对河流的影响。