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The Cochin backwaters are facing widespread environmental pollution because of the release of solid wastes and liquid effluents from industrial, domestic, and agricultural sectors. The waters are contaminated with trace metals due to an inefficient waste disposal system. Here, the potential trace metal enrichment in sediments related to human activities was evaluated using an enrichment factor, contamination factor, geo-accumulation index, and pollution load index. Metal concentration ranges in sediments during the monsoon, post-monsoon, and pre-monsoon periods were as follows: Fe (15517-90885 µg/g), Mn (122.5-970.9 µg/g), Co (6.9-41.9 µg/g), Ni (12.9-62.9 µg/g), Cu (15.9-56.8 µg/g), Zn (58.7-888.7 µg/g), Cd (0.9-14.5 µg/g), and Pb (12.7-46.8 µg/g). Data on sediment trace metal concentrations are important for environmental forensic investigations, useful for monitoring (i.e., tracing) sources of contaminants (i.e., metal pollutants) and their impacts, and valuable for tracking the dispersal pathways of contaminants in estuarine environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]