Cyanobacterial blooms pose increasing threats to water safety due to their ability to produce toxic secondary metabolites such as microcystins. This study aimed to assess the abundance of cyanobacteria and the occurrence of microcystins contamination in Malaysia_s water supply system, particularly under local climatic conditions. The Sungai Labu Off-River Storage (ORS) was selected as the study site to investigate the presence of microcystin-producing cyanobacteria and their correlation with environmental factors. Cyanobacterial abundance was determined using photosynthetic pigment measurements (chlorophyll-a and phycocyanin) via portable sensors, and molecular identification was conducted using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) targeting the mcyE gene. Microcystins concentrations were quantified using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The relationship between variables was analysed using Pearson correlation, and an artificial neural network (ANN) model was develop.....

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