Buriganga is an economically important river located around the industrialized urban area of Dhaka City, Bangladesh. In this study, 17 water quality parameters (electrical conductivity, pH, total suspended solids, temperature, F⁻, Cl⁻, SO₄²⁻, Cr, Ni, As, Cd, Hg, Cu, Pb, Fe, Mn, and Zn) of surface and deep waters of the Buriganga River were measured to assess the water quality, pollution level, elemental sources, and their potential ecological and human health risks. Comparing the concentrations of the analyzed parameters with the permissible standards, it was indicated that the water in Buriganga is unsafe for residential and recreational uses. Principal component and correlation analysis revealed that point and diffuse sources, such as the combustion of lubricant oils, fuel additives, exhaust fumes from vehicles, domestic wastewater, and inorganic fertilizers from agricultural fields, control the water quality. Regardless of depth, a higher degree of contamination and ecological risk was observed during the dry season, indicating a higher content of heavy metals in river water, which might impact the ecological balance in the future. Through ingestion, the hazard quotient (HQ) of As, Cd, Pb, and Hg and the hazard index (HI) values were higher than the risk threshold (HQ > 1). Total HI values for children in both residential and recreational water were higher than those for adults (1.04 × 10¹ and 1.73 × 10⁰ for surface and deep water, respectively), indicating that children are more sensitive to elemental contamination. Total carcinogenic risks of Cr and As due to exposure to water were higher than the standard limit (>1.0 × 10⁻⁴), which indicated possible cancer risks to the inhabitants around the river. Therefore, regular monitoring of river water quality and sustainable management could be implemented to recover the polluted river water and keep it pollution-free in the future. © 2023 RSC.