| Summary: | Clean and healthy drinking water is fundamental to human health. If the water comes from household drinking water wells, the quality of the water should be ensured by the property owner. Arsenic, lead and cadmium are substances that can cause health problems in elevated drinking water levels, making it important to control its occurrence. Several municipalities around the Skelleftefältet area in Norr- and Västerbotten County have been identified with elevated levels of these elements and the source is assumed to be the sulfide rich bedrock that dominates the area. This report aimed to investigate whether there was a correlation between elevated levels of arsenic, lead, and cadmium and soils. There was also reason to investigate future risk areas with increased erosion due to climate changes. Data from a total of 435 drinking water wells were gathered from Skellefteå and Piteå municipality and then compared with the soil at the sampling point. Wells within a radius of 1 km from areas with ravines or landslides were identified as risk areas. The result showed that about 14 % of the identified drinking water wells had elevated levels of arsenic. The concentrations in the samples and the soil types at the sampling points varied, and a correlation between a certain soil and elevated level could not be ensured. A few sampling points were identified in erosion-sensitive areas which are at major risk of major risk of increased mobility of metals.
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