For shallow groundwater, hydrogeochemical processes and quality assessment must be addressed because shallow groundwater is freely available in many parts of the globe. Due to recent anthropogenic activities and environmental changes in Sakrand, Sindh, Pakistan, the groundwater is extremely vulnerable. To provide safe drinking and agricultural water, hydrogeochemical analysis is required. Ninety-five groundwater samples were analyzed using agricultural and drinking indices to determine the hydrogeochemical parameters using multivariate analysis such as Pearson correlations, principal component cluster analysis, as well as Piper diagrams and Gibbs plot for drinking and agricultural indices. An abundance of ions was observed through the statistical summary; however, cations and anions were recorded in the orders Na⁺ > Ca²⁺ > Mg²⁺ > K⁺ and HCO₃⁻ > Cl⁻ > SO₄²⁻ > NO₃⁻ > F⁻. The hydrogeochemical process used to quantify the major reactions occurring in the groundwater system showed rock dominance; the Piper diagrams evaluated the water type. A mixed pattern of calcium, magnesium, and chloride ions (Ca²⁺−Mg²⁺−Cl⁻ type) was observed. Additionally, the ion exchange method showed an excess of bicarbonate ions due to carbonic acid weathering. The water quality index (WQI) resulted 32.6% of groundwater being unsuitable for human consumption; however, the United States Salinity Laboratory (USSL) diagram showed 60% of samples were unsuitable for irrigation due to high salinity and the Wilcox diagram depicted 5% of samples lying in the unsuitable region. Most of the water samples were suitable for drinking; only a few samples were unsafe for drinking purposes for children due to the high hazard index.

Groundwater is a critical water supply for safe drinking water, agriculture, and industry worldwide. In the Khanewal district of Punjab, Pakistan, groundwater has severely deteriorated during the last few decades due to environmental changes and anthropogenic activities. Therefore, 68 groundwater samples were collected and analyzed for their main ions and trace elements to investigate the suitability of groundwater sources for drinking and agricultural purposes. Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) were employed to determine the major factors influencing groundwater quality. To assess the groundwater’s appropriateness for drinking and irrigation, drinking and agricultural indices were used. The pH of the groundwater samples ranged from 6.9 to 9.2, indicating that the aquifers were slightly acidic to alkaline. The major cations were distributed as follows: Na⁺ > Ca²⁺ > Mg²⁺ > K⁺. Meanwhile, the anions are distributed as follows: HCO₃⁻ > SO₄²⁻ > Cl⁻ > F⁻. The main hydrochemical facies were identified as a mixed type; however, a mixed magnesium, calcium, and chloride pattern was observed. The reverse ion exchange process helps in exchanging Na⁺ with Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ ions in the groundwater system. Rock weathering processes, such as the dissolution of calcite, dolomite, and gypsum minerals, dominated the groundwater hydrochemistry. According to the Weight Arithmetic Water Quality Index (WAWQI), 50% of the water samples were unsafe for drinking. The Wilcox diagram, USSL diagram, and some other agricultural indices resulted in around 32% of the groundwater samples being unsuitable for irrigation purposes. The Khanewal’s groundwater quality was vulnerable due to geology and the influence of anthropogenic activities. For groundwater sustainability in Khanewal, management strategies and policies are required.

The fluoride pollution in the groundwater is a significant human health risk around the world. However, many diseases including dental, crippling and skeletal fluorosis cause due to high fluoride contamination in the drinking water. The objectives of this study were to investigate the occurrence of higher F⁻ in the groundwater, geochemical composition, water type mechanism for minerals enrichment and groundwater quality for drinking and irrigation purposes. Therefore, fifty-seven groundwater samples were collected for the appraisal. The mean concentrations of physical parameters like depth, Temperature, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solid, power of hydrogen ion (pH) and turbidity were observed as 28 m, 19.78 °C, 2283 uS/cm, 1456 mg/L, 7.4 and 21.80 NTU respectively. Whereas, the mean concentrations of chemical parameters such as cations (Ca⁺², Mg⁺², Na⁺ and K⁺) were observed to be (92.12, 83.63, 251 and 12.40) mg/L and anions (Cl⁻, SO₄²⁻, HCO₃⁻, NO₃⁻ and F⁻) were (375, 300, 285, 4.9 and 1.9) mg/L respectively. While the mean concentration of total Fe in the drinking water samples of study are were reported as 0.28 mg/L respectively. The range concentration of F⁻ were 0.23–6.8 mg/L shows that 47% of drinking water samples exceeded the WHO limit (1.5 mg/L). The piper plot resulted in the dominance of (NaCl), and Gibbs plot represents rock and precipitation dominance ratios; while SAR and Sodium percentage (Na %) validates the salinity and sodium risk to the use of groundwater for irrigation purposes. Saturation indices expressed; the saturation of the fluorite mineral found within the range of (− 2.3 to 1.24). PCA results reveals four significant factors with total percentage contribution were 70.73%. Whereas, the water quality index resulted with mean and standard deviation as (2502.62 ± 2164). The overall quality of the groundwater is unfit for human consumption and irrigation purposes to the local population of the study area.