Sains Malaysiana 46(3)(2017):
401–411
http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2017-4603-07
Assessment of Water Quality of Batang Rajang at
Pelagus Area, Sarawak, Malaysia
(Penilaian Kualiti Air Batang Rajang di Kawasan
Pelagus, Sarawak, Malaysia)
TECK-YEE LING1*, CHEN-LIN SOO1, TZE-PEI PHAN1, LEE NYANTI2, SIONG-FONG SIM1
& JONGKAR GRINANG3
1Department of Chemistry,
Faculty of Resource Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300
Kota Samarahan, Sarawak Bumi Kenyalang, Malaysia
2Department of Aquatic
Science, Faculty of Resource Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia
Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak Bumi Kenyalang, Malaysia
3Institute of
Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak
Bumi Kenyalang, Malaysia
Diserahkan: 15 April
2016/Diterima: 28 Jun 2016
ABSTRACT
This study was carried out to
examine the water quality of Batang Rajang at Pelagus area, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Water quality was determined at 12 stations along Batang Rajang and its
tributaries in terms of in-situ and ex-situ water quality
parameters. The results showed that most stations at main river were
categorized as slightly polluted while most tributaries were clean according to
the Water Quality Index. The river is suffering from organic pollution where
almost all stations along the river contained high chemical oxygen demand (≈
43.1 mg/L) and total ammonia nitrogen (≈ 0.520 mg/L) and were classified as
Class III and IV at most of the stations. High suspended solids (218.3 mg/L)
and low dissolved oxygen (4.6 mg/L) were observed at the main river. The low
dissolved oxygen content from the Bakun dam upstream of the study area has an
impact on the river particularly during dry season where DO dropped
below the minimum required for sensitive aquatic organisms. As seven
tributaries are within Class II indicating healthy freshwater ecosystems, they
should be conserved as habitats for sensitive aquatic organisms. Conversely,
proper management need to be initiated in particular, Sungai Merit tributary
and the main river where DO were below the minimum required for
sensitive aquatic organisms.
Keywords: Hydroelectric dam;
longhouses; Pelagus rapids; regulated river; water quality index
ABSTRAK
Penyelidikan ini dijalankan untuk
mengkaji kualiti air Batang Rajang di kawasan Pelagus, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Kualiti air telah ditentukan di 12 stesen sepanjang Batang Rajang dan anak
sungainya daripada segi parameter kualiti air secara in-situ dan ex-situ. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa kebanyakan stesen di sungai
utama dikategorikan sebagai sedikit tercemar manakala kebanyakan anak sungai
adalah bersih mengikut Indeks Kualiti Air. Batang Rajang mengalami pencemaran
organik dengan hampir semua stesen di sepanjang sungai mengandungi permintaan
oksigen kimia (≈ 43.1 mg/L) dan jumlah nitrogen ammonia (≈ 0.520 mg/L) yang
tinggi dan diklasifikasikan sebagai Kelas III dan IV di kebanyakan stesen.
Pepejal terampai yang tinggi (218.3 mg/L) dan oksigen terlarut (DO)
yang rendah (4.6 mg/L) diperhatikan di sungai utama. Kandungan oksigen terlarut
yang rendah dari empangan Bakun di hulu kawasan kajian mempunyai kesan ke atas
sungai terutamanya semasa musim kering dengan DO jatuh
di bawah tahap minimum yang diperlukan untuk organisma akuatik sensitif.
Memandangkan tujuh anak sungai berada dalam Kelas II yang merupakan ekosistem
air tawar yang sihat, mereka harus dipelihara sebagai habitat untuk organisma
akuatik yang sensitif. Sebaliknya, pengurusan yang betul perlu dimulakan
terutamanya di anak sungai Merit dan sungai utama dengan DO adalah
di bawah tahap minimum yang diperlukan untuk organisma akuatik sensitif.
Kata kunci: Empangan hidroelektrik; indeks kualiti air; jeram
Pelagus; rumah panjang; sungai terkawal
RUJUKAN
Baoligao,
B., Xu, F., Chen, X., Wang, X. & Chen, W. 2016. Acute impacts of reservoir
sediment flushing on fishes in the Yellow River. Journal of
Hydro-Environment Research 13: 26-35.
Beck, M.W.,
Claassen, A.H. & Hundt, P.J. 2012. Environmental and livelihood impacts of
dams: Common lessons across development gradients that challenge
sustainability. International Journal of River Basin Management 10(1):
73-92.
Bilotta,
G.S. & Brazier, R.E. 2008. Understanding the influence of suspended solids
on water quality and aquatic biota. Water Research 42(12): 2849-2861.
Braga, E.S.,
Bonetti, C.V.D.H., Burone, L. & Filho, J.B. 2000. Eutrophication and
bacterial pollution caused by industrial and domestic wastes at the Baixada
Santista Estuarine System - Brazil. Marine Pollution Bulletin 40(2):
165-173.
Caldeira,
K. & Wickett, M.E. 2003. Oceanography: Anthropogenic carbon and ocean pH. Nature 425(6956): 365.
Cunha,
D.D.E.A. & Ferreira, L.V. 2012. Impacts of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam
construction on pioneer vegetation formations along the Xingu River, Pará
State, Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Botany 35(2): 159-167.
Dahlgren,
R.A. 1998. Effects of Forest Harvest on Stream-Water Quality and Nitrogen
Cycling in the Caspar Creek Watershed. USDA Forest Service Gen Tech Rep
PSW-GTR-168.
Davis, J.R.
& Koop, K. 2006. Eutrophication in Australian rivers, reservoirs and
estuaries - a southern hemisphere perspective on the science and its
implications. Hydrobiologia 559: 23-76.
Department
of Environment. 2015. Malaysia Environmental Quality Report 2014. Kuala
Lumpur: Department of Environment.
Dykstra,
D.P. & Elias. 2003. Ex-post Evaluation of PD 104/90 Rev. 2 (F) and PD
26/96 Rev. 4 (F) - Studies of the Management Standards of Hill Dipterocarp
Forests in Sarawak from a Watershed Point of View, Phase I and II (Malaysia). Yokohama:
International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO).
Ensign, S.H.
& Mallin, M.A. 2001. Stream water quality changes following timber harvest
in a coastal plain swamp forest. Water Research 35(14): 3381-3390.
Gokbulak,
F., Serengil, Y., Ozhan, S., Ozyuvaci, N. & Balci, N. 2008. Effect of
timber harvest on physical water quality characteristics. Water Resources
Management 22(5): 635- 649.
Gonzalez-Ortegon,
E., Subida, M.D., Cuesta, J.A., Arias, A.M., Fernandez-Delgado, C. & Drake,
P. 2010. The impact of extreme turbidity events on the nursery function of a
temperate European estuary with regulated freshwater inflow. Estuarine,
Coastal and Shelf Science 87(2): 311-324.
Guo, H., Hu,
Q., Zhang, Q. & Feng, S. 2012. Effects of the three gorges dam on Yangtze
River flow and river interaction with Poyang Lake, China: 2003-2008. Journal
of Hydrology 416- 417: 19-27.
Hach. 2015. Hach
Water Analysis Handbook. USA: Hach Company.
Hadibarata,
T., Abdullah, F., Yusoff, A.R.M., Ismail, R., Azman, S. & Adnan, N. 2012.
Correlation study between land use, water quality and heavy metals (Cd, Pb, and
Zn) content in water and green lipped mussels Perna viridis (Linnaeus.)
at the Johor Strait. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 223: 3125-3136.
Ham, Y.S.,
Kobori, H. & Takasago, M. 2009. Effects of combined sewer overflow and
stormwater on indicator bacteria concentrations in the Tama River due to the
high population density of Tokyo Metropolitan area. Environmental Monitoring
and Assessment 152: 459-468.
Hart, M.R.,
Quin, B.F. & Nguyen, M.L. 2004. Phosphorus runoff from agricultural land
and direct fertilizer effects: A review. Journal of Environmental Quality 33:
1954-1972.
Harun, S.,
Dambul, R., Abdullah, M.H. & Mohamed, M. 2014. Spatial and seasonal
variations in surface water quality of the Lower Kinabatangan River Catchment,
Sabah, Malaysia. Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation 11:
117-131.
Hasenbein,
M., Komoroske, L.M., Connon, R.E., Geist, J. & Fangue, N.A. 2013. Turbidity
and salinity affect feeding performance and physiological stress in the
endangered delta smelt. Integrative and Comparative Biology 53(4):
620-634.
Huang, X.P.,
Huang, L.M. & Yue, W.Z. 2003. The characteristics of nutrients and
eutrophication in the Pearl River estuary, South China. Marine Pollution
Bulletin 47: 30-36.
Jarvie,
H.P., Neal, C. & Withers, P.J.A. 2006. Sewage-effluent phosphorus: A
greater risk to river eutrophication than agricultural phosphorus? The
Science of the Total Environment 360: 246-253.
Jenkins, D.,
Connors, J.J. & Greenberg, A.E. 2005. Standard Methods for the
Examination of Water and Wastewater 21st ed. Washington: American Public
Health Association.
Johnson,
C.N., Fisher, P.R., Huang, J., Yeager, T.H., Obreza, T.A., Vetanovetz, R.P.,
Argo, W.R. & Bishko, A.J. 2013. Effect of fertilizer potential acidity and
nitrogen form on the pH response in a peat-based substrate with three
floricultural species. Scientia Horticulturae 162: 135-143.
Juahir, H.,
Zain, S.M., Yusoff, M.K., Hanidza, T.I.T., Armi, A.S.M., Toriman, M.E. &
Mokhtar, M. 2011. Spatial water quality assessment of Langat River Basin
(Malaysia) using environmetric techniques. Environmental Monitoring and
Assessment 173: 625-641.
Kim, G.,
Chung, S. & Lee, C. 2007. Water quality of run off from
agricultural-forestry watersheds in the Geum River Basin, Korea. Environmental
Monitoring and Assessment 134(1-3): 441-452.
Kimbell,
H.S. & Morrell, L.J. 2015. Turbidity influences individual and group level
responses to predation in guppies, Poecilia reticulata. Animal
Behaviour 103: 179-185.
Kondolf,
G.M. 1997. Hungry water: Effects of dams and gravel mining on river channels. Environmental
Management 21(4): 533-551.
Li, X.,
Dong, S., Zhao, Q. & Liu, S. 2010. Impacts of Manwan Dam construction on
aquatic habitat and community in middle reach of Lancang River. Procedia
Environmental Sciences 2(5): 706-712.
Lin, Q.
2011. Influence of dams on river ecosystem and its countermeasures. Journal
of Water Resource and Protection 03(01): 60-66.
Ling, T.Y.,
Nyanti, L., Muan, T., Grinang, J., Sim, S.F. & Mujahid, A. 2016a.
Physicochemical parameters of Bakun Reservoir in Belaga, Sarawak, Malaysia, 13
Months after reaching full supply level. Sains Malaysiana 45(2):
157-166.
Ling, T.Y.,
Soo, C.L., Sivalingam, J.R., Nyanti, L., Sim, S.F. & Grinang, J. 2016b.
Assessment of the water and sediment quality of tropical forest streams in
upper reaches of Baleh River, Sarawak, Malaysia, subjected to logging
activities. Journal of Chemistry 2016: Article ID 8503931.
Ling, T.Y.,
Nyanti, L. & John Masion, A.S. 2015. Water quality of rivers that flow into
Bakun hydroelectric dam reservoir, Sarawak, Malaysia. ESTEEM Academic
Journal 11(Special Issue 1): 9-16.
Ling, T.Y.,
Michelle, C.M., Lee, N., Norhadi, I. & Justin, J.J.E. 2010a. Impacts of
aquaculture and domestic wastewater on the water quality of Santubong River,
Malaysia. Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering 4(4): 11-16.
Ling, T.Y.,
Siew, T.F. & Lee, N. 2010b. Quantifying pollutants from household
wastewater in Kuching, Malaysia. World Applied Sciences Journal 8(4):
449-456.
Madhu, N.V.,
Balachandran, K.K., Martin, G.D., Jyothibabu, R., Thottathil, S.D., Nair, M.,
Joseph, T. & Kusum, K.K. 2010. Short-term variability of water quality and
its implications on phytoplankton production in a tropical estuary (Cochin
Backwaters-India). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 170(1-4):
287-300.
Neal,
C., Williams, R., Neal, M., Bhardwaj, L., Wickham, H., Harrow, M. & Hill,
L. 2000. The water quality of the River Thames at a rural site downstream of
Oxford. The Science of the Total Environment 251-252: 441-457.
Pierson, S.T., Cabrera, M.L., Evanylo, G.K., Kuykendall,
H.A., Hoveland, C.S., McCann, M.A. & West, L.T. 2001. Phosphorus and
ammonium concentrations in surface runoff from grasslands fertilized with
broiler litter. Journal of Environmental Quality 30: 1784-1789.
Preece, R. 2004. Cold
Water Pollution below Dams in New South Wales. Sydney: Department of
Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources.
Schelker, J., Eklöf, K.,
Bishop, K. & Laudon, H. 2012. Effects of forestry operations on dissolved
organic carbon concentrations and export in boreal first-order streams. Journal
of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 117(1): 1-12.
Wang, Q.G., Du, Y.H.,
Su, Y. & Chen, K.Q. 2012. Environmental impact post-assessment of dam and
reservoir projects: A review. Procedia Environmental Sciences 13(2011):
1439- 1443.
Wei, G.L., Yang, Z.F.,
Cui, B.S., Li, B., Chen, H., Bai, J.H. & Dong, S.K. 2009. Impact of dam
construction on water quality and water self-purification capacity of the
Lancang River, China. Water Resources Management 23: 1763-1780.
Whitall, D., Hively,
W.D., Leight, A.K., Hapeman, C.J., McConnell, L.L., Fisher, T., Rice, C.P.,
Codling, E., McCarty, G.W., Sadeghi, A.M., Gustafson, A. & Bialek, K. 2010.
Pollutant fate and spatio-temporal variability in the Choptank River Estuary:
Factors influencing water quality. The Science of the Total Environment 408(9):
2096-2108.
Wildi, W. 2010.
Environmental hazards of dams and reservoirs. Near Curriculum in Natural
Environmental Science 88: 187-197.
Yi, Y., Yang, Z. &
Zhang, S. 2010. Ecological influence of dam construction and river-lake
connectivity on migration fish habitat in the Yangtze River basin, China. Procedia
Environmental Sciences 2(5): 1942-1954.
*Pengarang untuk surat-menyurat; email: tyling@frst.unimas.my
|