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Due to the fact that strontium (Sr) is not involved in the scope of supervision of drinking water in China, the Sr concentration in public drinking water and its related health risks have been neglected for a long time. In this research, public drinking water samples were collected from 314 cities across the country to reveal the concentration and spatial distribution of Sr in public drinking water. In addition, the Monte Carlo method (a statistical simulation method) was applied to evaluate the Sr intake from drinking water and human health risks among different age groups and different regions. As shown in the results, the Sr was in the concentration range of 0.005–3.11 mg/L with a mean value of 0.360 mg/L. There were significant differences in the Sr concentration in different regions; in general, it was high in the north and low in the south. The Sr intakes of infants, children, teens, and adults from drinking water were 0.273, 0.503, 0.633, and 0.784 mg/day, respectively. There was a significant positive correlation between Sr concentration in drinking water and bone mineral density (BMD) in the elderly. Especially, the correlation coefficients (r) between Sr concentration and the BMD of the elderly whose age fell in the range of 60–70 years were 0.692 (male) and 0.483 (female). In addition, the Sr concentration in drinking water was positively correlated with the incidence of children’s rickets (r = 0.411), while the Ca/Br ratio was negatively correlated with the incidence of children’s rickets (r = − 0.410). According to the health risk assessment, among people of different ages, infants’ hazard index (HI) value was the highest. The mean value and 95th percentile value were 0.066 and 0.247. Non-carcinogenic risk of Sr through drinking water among different people in different regions was less than 1, which meant no significant damage to human health. This study is the first time to systematically investigate Sr in public drinking water across the whole country. More importantly, the conclusions can be applied to risk control and management of public drinking water. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-021-12378-y.