Contaminated drinking water poses a significant threat to public health, particularly in urban areas where industrial and environmental pollutants may affect water quality. However, there is a lack of comprehensive studies that evaluate the specific health risks associated with harmful metal contaminants in drinking water. This study seeks to address this gap by assessing water quality and metal contamination using pollution indices and human health risk assessments. The findings will help to identify potential health risks for urban residents and guide the development of targeted interventions and improved water management strategies. The groundwater samples were collected from five different zones in Kasur rural area. A total of 25 samples were collected by random sampling from hand pumps during 4 months (March–June, 2021) for determining various physiochemical attributes (pH, electric conductivity, turbidity, total hardness, chloride, and phosphate) and potentially toxic elements (arsenic, cadmium, and lead) using standard protocols. Results revealed that almost all the physicochemical attributes were close to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The water quality assessment revealed that pH levels ranged from 7.4 to 9.0, electrical conductivity (EC) between 150 µS/cm and 800 µS/cm, and average turbidity of 12 ± 3.29 NTU, total hardness varied from 200 to 1000 mg/L. Chloride and phosphate concentrations averaged 304 ± 1.28 mg/L and 4.51 ± 1.99 mg/L, respectively. Cadmium levels ranged from 0.15 to 0.53 mg/L, while lead and arsenic concentrations reached up to 7.47 mg/L, exceeding the WHO guidelines. Heavy metal pollution index (HPI) values of all sites were less than critical value of 100. However, by considering the HPI classes, all the locations had high HPI (> 30) class indicating critically polluted water with heavy metals. Through exposure to drinking water, heavy metals had a significant impact on non-carcinogenic risk (HI > 1), according to the hazard index values determined by the human health risk analysis for children, infants, and adults. As compared with metals carcinogenic risk values, lead posed high risks to adults than children and infants as mean CR values for adults, children, and infants were 1.48E + 00, 1.40E + 00, and 7.60E-01, respectively. It is suggested that for drinking water supplies, there is need of installation of treatment plants in the industrial areas to minimize the risk of metal contamination and health issues.

受污染的饮用水对公众健康构成重大威胁，尤其是在工业和环境污染物可能影响水质的城市地区。然而，缺乏全面的研究来评估与饮用水中有害金属污染物相关的特定健康风险。本研究旨在通过使用污染指数和人类健康风险评估来评估水质和金属污染，从而解决这一差距。研究结果将有助于确定城市居民的潜在健康风险，并指导制定有针对性的干预措施和改进的水资源管理策略。地下水样本是从 Kasur 农村地区的五个不同区域收集的。在 4 个月（2021 年 3 月至 6 月）期间，通过手动泵随机取样共收集了 25 个样品，用于测定各种理化属性（pH 值、电导率、浊度、总硬度、氯化物和磷酸盐）和潜在有毒元素（砷、镉和铅）使用标准方案。结果显示，几乎所有的物理化学属性都接近世界卫生组织 （WHO） 指南。水质评估显示，pH 值在 7.4 到 9.0 之间，电导率 （EC） 在 150 μS/cm 和 800 μS/cm 之间，平均浊度在 12 ± 3.29 NTU 之间，总硬度从 200 到 1000 mg/L 不等。氯化物和磷酸盐浓度平均分别为 304 ± 1.28 mg/L 和 4.51 ± 1.99 mg/L。镉含量在 0.15 至 0.53 毫克/升之间，而铅和砷浓度高达 7.47 毫克/升，超过了 WHO 指南。所有场地的重金属污染指数 （HPI） 值均小于临界值 100。 然而，通过考虑 HPI 等级，所有地点都具有高 HPI （> 30） 等级，表明重金属严重污染了水。根据儿童、婴儿和成人人类健康风险分析确定的危害指数值，通过接触饮用水，重金属对非致癌风险 （HI > 1） 有显着影响。与金属致癌风险值相比，铅对成人构成的风险高于儿童和婴儿，成人、儿童和婴儿的平均 CR 值分别为 1.48E + 00、1.40E + 00 和 7.60E-01。建议在饮用水供应方面，需要在工业区安装处理厂，以最大限度地降低金属污染和健康问题的风险。