RESEARCH ARTICLE Impacts of the linear flowing industrial wastewater on the groundwater quality and human health in Swabi, Pakistan Rahib Hussain 1,2,3 & Seema Anjum Khattak 1 & Liaqat Ali 1 & Shehla Sattar 1,4 & Madeeha Zeb 1 & Mian Luqman Hussain 1 Received: 5 November 2020 /Accepted: 5 April 2021 # The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2021, corrected publication 2021 Abstract The present study aimed to probe the extent and mobility of contamination in wastewater and its impact on groundwater and human health in the Swabi region in Pakistan. Representative samples (n = 86) were collected from both wastewater streams and groundwater in an analogous environmental setting. The result showed that pH, color, hardness, alkalinity, chemical oxygen demand, chloride, suspended solids, total dissolved solids, Cr, Cd, Pb, Cu, Fe, Mg, Na, Ca, and K in industrial wastewater were higher than the Pak-EPA (Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency) and the United State Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) devised standards. In groundwater, the concentration (μgL -1 ) of trace elements, namely, Cd (1.16), Pb (17.4), Fe (12426), Mn (320), Mg (129784), Na (33630), Ca (177944), and K (9558) was significantly higher than the WHO (World Health Organization) acceptable level, showing decreasing tendency with increasing distance from the industrial zone. The study perceived that wastewater caused permanent hardness, while groundwater hardness was decreased from permanent to temporary at a distance from industries. Integrated health risk assessment revealed that Cu, Zn, and Co may cause low risk, Na, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Cr cause medium risk, whereas Cd, Fe, Mg, Ca, and K may cause a high health risk. Moreover, the average daily intake of Fe, Mn, Mg, Na, Ca, and K was comparably higher than Cr, Cd, Pb, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Co in both adults and children. The mode of occurrence of contaminants in groundwater was due to the leaching of contaminated wastewater and the oxidation of metals. Furthermore, carbonates, chloride, and SAR (sodium adsorption ratio) precipitation have a key role in groundwater contamina- tion and influencing the natural water quality. The study concluded that the health problems in the surrounding areas were due to the use of contaminated water for drinking and household purpose. The study suggests filtering the drinking water and treating the wastewater before releasing it into the environment. Keywords Carbonates . Health risk . PLI . Toxic trace elements . SAR . Water quality Introduction The emerging pollution caused by industrialization, urbaniza- tion, and social development is responsible for water deterio- ration, various environmental and health problems (Cui and Shi 2012). The waste generated by anthropogenic activities such as industrial, municipal, and agricultural wastes is the basic source of toxic trace elements (TTE) (Chang et al. 2012). The contaminated water has high contents of TTE, which may cumulate in soil or may infiltrate to groundwater. The contaminated water is an active source of elements mo- bility that seriously disrupts the ecological system and food chain (Walakira and Okot-Okumu 2011). Additionally, the intake of contaminated water may cause various health prob- lems (almost 80% of diseases occurred) including some acute and chronic diseases in humans (WHO 2004). The original online version of this article was revised: The bottom part of Figure 4 image is cut-off. Responsible Editor: Xianliang Yi * Rahib Hussain rahibpcr@gmail.com; rahib.cees@pu.edu.pk Seema Anjum Khattak s_anjum@uop.edu.pk 1 College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan 2 National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25130, Pakistan 3 Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resource Research, CAS, Beijing 100101, China 4 Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Swabi, Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 23561, Pakistan https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13842-5 / Published online: 1 June 2021 Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2021) 28:56741–56757