Water quality of selected rivers in Behrang River catchment, Perak Malaysia

Husna Nabilah Hamidon

Abstract

Water quality is essential for human health, environment, agriculture and more aspects related to human lives. This study aimed to evaluate the water quality in selected four rivers around Behrang catchments, Perak, Malaysia. Sampling was carried out from November 2017 to January 2018 in five stations twice a week to identify changes in water body. The study was implemented using in-situ parameters and water samples from the rivers to be tested in laboratory. Physicochemical parameters include temperature, conductivity (CND), total dissolved solids (TDS), dissolved oxygen (DO), potential of hydrogen (pH), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N), and suspended solids (SS). The water quality was determined based on (INWQS), which categorises pollution levels from clean to contaminated in the order of Classes I, II, III, IV, and V. According to the land use, agricultural activity is dominant and main contributor to the water quality in Behrang catchments, and the results show that the rivers are in Class I and Class II.

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