IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering PAPER • OPEN ACCESS Water quality assessment at selected sites in Perak and Kinta River To cite this article: S A M Wakif et al 2020 IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng. 920 012013 View the article online for updates and enhancements. This content was downloaded from IP address 170.106.35.234 on 24/09/2021 at 22:36 IGNITE 2019 IOP Publishing IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 920 (2020) 012013 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/920/1/012013 Water quality assessment at selected sites in Perak and Kinta River S A M Wakif, N Sabtu* and I Abustan School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia 14300 Nibong Tebal, Malaysia *Corresponding author: [email protected] Abstract. This paper describes the water quality study which was carried out at five (5) sampling sites along Sg. Perak and Sg. Kinta respectively. The objective of the study was to examine the chemical, physical and biological characteristics of the river and to determine the level and classification at each site based on the Water Quality Index (WQI) and National Water Quality Standards (NWQS). Water samples from the river were subjected to in-situ and laboratory water quality analyses and focused on six (6) important parameters based on WQI which are Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Suspended Solid (TSS), Ammoniacal Nitrogen (NH3-N), and pH. All testing procedures used in this study adhered to the American Public Health Association (APHA) testing procedures. Based on the results obtained, the quality of water for four (4) sampling stations along Sg. Perak can be concluded as CLASS III with only one station concluded as CLASS IV according to the National Water Quality Standards (NWQS). For Sg. Kinta, four sampling stations were classified as CLASS III whereas only one station falls into CLASS II. It is important to determine the WQI at different areas of along the river in order to predict (possible) points of pollution for monitoring purposes. 1. Introduction Perak River (Sg. Perak) is the second longest river in Peninsular Malaysia after Sungai Pahang. Sg. Perak is approximately 400 km long with a basin size of 14,900 km2. The river extends from the mountainous Perak-Kelantan-Thailand border of the Belum Forest Reserve and ends at the Straits of Malacca. As the second longest river in Peninsular Malaysia, Sg. Perak is an important asset to the state of and people of Perak. It serves as the primary source of raw water and contributes to (approximately) 70 percent of raw water in Perak that is channelled to the population. This amounts to about 1300 million litres of water that is distributed to 2.5 million residents in Perak daily [1]. This number is expected to increase in the future as the population of Perak increases. Apart from this, the river also serves as one of the main sources of livelihood for fishermen and is also a tourist attraction by providing tourist activities such as kayaking and canoeing. The river also contributes in many other contexts in terms of benefit, profit and serviceability. Kinta River (Sg. Kinta) on the other hand is also one of the most significant rivers in Perak as it is one of the main tributaries of Sg. Perak. The length of the river itself extends to approximately 100 km long with a catchment basin of 2500 km2. Sg. Kinta originates from Gunung Korbu and the downstream end of Sg. Kinta adjoins into Sg. Perak. Sg. Kinta main function is for the provision of water supply, but it is also a critical resource for industrial/production in Ipoh [2,3]. An increase of urbanisation, industrialisation, and agricultural developments along the river basins over the years contributes to the higher levels of river pollution. Household sewage; fertilisers; herbicides Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd 1 IGNITE 2019 IOP Publishing IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 920 (2020) 012013 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/920/1/012013 and pesticides; sand mining activities; waste and sewage from heavy industries such as iron and steel industry; food industry; pharmaceuticals and others are released into the rivers through drainage systems thus contaminating and deteriorating the quality of rivers. The release of untreated organic waste into these rivers also reduces the availability of oxygen in the river hence affecting the ecosystem [4]. In order to address the issue of river pollution, a river water quality-monitoring programme was started in 1978 by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in order to establish the baseline as well as to detect the water quality of rivers in Malaysia. This programme has also extended to identifying the sources of pollution and attempts to continuously monitor the changes in river water quality. The programme collects water samples at regular intervals from designated stations for in-situ and laboratory analyses in order to determine its physico-chemical and biological characteristics [5]. Continuous monitoring of river water quality is vital for early detection of pollution influx. River water quality in Malaysia has always been a cause for concern for various local authorities, government agencies as well as the public at large. This study was therefore performed with the aim of assessing river water quality of two important rivers at different locations/sites where continuous monitoring is not (yet) conducted so that the (possible) sources of pollution may be identified. Ultimately, the outcome of this study would increase awareness on the importance of clean rivers for the ecosystem, to reduce the cost of water treatment for water supply, and the preservation of raw water supply for the future. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Study Area Sg, Perak and Sg. Kinta river were selected in this study as both rivers are important rivers in the state of Perak Darul Ridzuan. Many industrial, domestic, and agricultural activities occur along these rivers. For this study, five (5) sampling stations were selected for each river. The water quality monitoring in Sg. Kinta and Sg. Perak were conducted to obtain qualitative information as well as to examine the characteristics (chemical, physical, and biological) of the river. Figure 1 shows the location of samples collected along Sg. Perak. Exact location and details for the sampling locations for both Sg. Perak and Sg. Kinta are as shown in Table 1(a) and (b) respectively. Figure 1. Location of sampling sites along Sg. Perak 2 IGNITE 2019 IOP Publishing IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 920 (2020) 012013 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/920/1/012013 Table 1(a). Sampling location and coordinates (Perak River). Coordinates Station Site Location Latitude (N) Longitude (E) K1 Sg. Kinta 4°05’48.9’’ 101°00’48.8’’ K2 Muara Sg. Kinta 4°05’30.3’’ 101°00’40.4’’ K3 Sg. Kinta – Sg. Bidor (Middle) 4°04’17.9’’ 101°00’41.8’’ K4 Muara Sg. Bidor 4°02’25.6’’ 101°01’40.1’’ K5 Muara Benteng Beras Basah 3°59’26.0’’ 100°45’36.7’’ Table 1(b). Sampling location and coordinates (Kinta River). Coordinates Station Site Location Latitude (N) Longitude (E) S1 Kg. Harewood 4°26’34.35’’ 101°3’0.57’’ S2 Taman Senawi 4°19’3.03’’ 100°43’48.75’’ S3 Biovalley 4°18’35.69’’ 101°4’40.22’’ S4 Jong Baruk 4°6’57.17’’ 101°1’4.75’’ S5 Kg. Pelanduk 5°8’24.83’’ 100°37’28.36’’ Water samples were obtained from the river and in-situ test and laboratory experiments were conducted in order to determine the river water quality. In-situ parameters such as pH, Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and temperature were determined using YSI Quatro equipment whereas other parameters such as Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Suspended Solid (TSS) and Ammoniacal-Nitrogen (NH3-N) were determined in the laboratory in accordance to the specific American Public Health Association (APHA) standards for each parameter. All laboratory analyses were conducted at the Environment Laboratory of School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia. Table 2 shows all of the parameters tested and the methods/standards referred to in this study. Only six (6) parameters were measured/determined as all of these parameters are significant in order to determine the Water Quality Index. Table 2. Water quality parameters and the related methods used. Parameters Method Unit Temperature In-situ °C pH In-situ - DO In-situ mg/l BOD APHA 5210B mg/l COD APHA 5220B mg/l TSS APHA 2540D mg/l NH3-N APHA 4500 mg/l 2.2 Water Quality Index Water Quality Index (WQI) is a rating tool that summarizes six important water quality parameters into one concise and objective value representing the state of water quality in a river. The resulting value of WQI determines the status of the river water quality based on National Water Quality Standards Malaysia. The status of the rivers are divided into six (6) classes ranging from Class 1 to Class V. Each class would relate to the appropriate/allowable uses of the river. Each of the parameters may also be 3 IGNITE 2019 IOP Publishing IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 920 (2020) 012013 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/920/1/012013 scored individually (based on the sub index) and the corresponding status (clean, slightly polluted, or polluted) may be determined.