# Physico-Chemical Parameters and Health Risk Analysis of Groundwater Quality
## 5 Conclusions  
At present, groundwater occupies a special place in nature, primarily as a source of drinking water for the population, and for industry and agriculture. It has better drinking qualities than surface water, which is why its exploitation and capture process has become increasingly important. Recent studies on groundwater quality control have shown that, in many parts of the world, water has different degrees of quality depending on the natural and anthropogenic factors acting upon them. * This study has revealed that the pH values of well water are slightly alkaline and varied from 7.22 pH units to 7.91 pH units and are within the permissible limit prescribed by the Romanian legislation. * Regarding the conductivity of the studied groundwater, the highest value was observed in Casimcea (3070 \(\upmu\)s/cm); the higher EC value of the well could be attributed to its shallow depth, as ongoing surface activities can affect the conductivity values. * The concentration of nitrate contained in water seems to be the high agricultural waste and sewage contamination. The highest level of nitrates was found in the waters of Casimcea (532 mg/L), while for nitrites, the highest level was highlighted also in the groundwater in Casimcea (0.245 mg/L). In the region of Dobrudja, the nitrate level exceeded the maximum limits allowed by the Romanian legislation. * The studied waters fall into the category of hard waters (those from Lumina and Corbu) and very hard waters, with hardness values over 30 degrees German hardness. * Higher turbidity affects the life indirectly by cutting the light to be utilized by the phytoplankton growth. At all sites, turbidity is low, because there is no exploitation activity in the area. * Ammonium is an indicator parameter of recent organic pollution. Its sudden increase indicates the intervention of a pollution that can be both natural and artificial origin. The ammonium parameter registers the highest value in Corbu (0.075 mg/L). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Metals**} & **RfD** & \multirow{2}{*}{**Constanta**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Palazu Mare**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Palas**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Lumina**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Corbu**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Casimcea**} \\  & **[mg**\(\cdot\)kg\({}^{-1}\cdot\)**day\({}^{-1}\)]** & & & & & \\ \hline Cd & 0.0010 & - & - & - & - & - \\ Pb & 0.0035 & 0.329 & 8.293 & - & 0.937 & - & 0.900 \\ Cu & 0.0400 & - & - & - & 0.066 & - & - \\ Cr & 1.5000 & 0.241 & 0.291 & 0.157 & 0.149 & 0.122 & 0.148 \\ Zn & 0.3000 & 0.910 & 2.370 & 0.821 & 3.612 & 0.481 & 1.66 \\ Mn & 0.1400 & 0.095 & 0.582 & 0.302 & 0.747 & 0.052 & 0.108 \\ Ni & 0.0200 & - & 3.355 & - & - & - & - \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 7: Risk index values for the studied samples. * Chloride is one of the most important parameters in assessing the water quality. The higher concentration of chloride indicates higher degree of organic pollution. The highest value for chloride concentrations was determined in Casimcea (312.7 mg/L) and the lowest value in Lumina (89.0 mg/L). * The concentrations of the studied metals were within the maximum allowed limits established by the Romanian legislation regarding the maximum allowed limits of heavy metals in drinking water. * In the case of the water from Palazu Mare the health risk index exceeds the maximum value for lead, zinc, and nickel. This exceedance is also observed in the case of the waters from Lumina and Casimcea for zinc, thus demonstrating that their use presents a danger to human health. In conclusion, more attention should be paid to the prevention of groundwater pollution and the immediate remediation of accidents. This would lead to lower, cost-effective costs as well as environmental protection. Conceptualization, A.S. ([PERSON]), N.M., C.I.D., and S.D. ; methodology, A.S. ([PERSON]), G.V. ; software, V.P. and A.S. ([PERSON]); validation, S.D. ; formal analysis, G.V. ; investigation, G.V. ; resources, A.S. ([PERSON]), S.D., N.M. and C.I.D. ; data curation, V.P.