RIVER CLASSIFICATION BASED ON THE PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES IN THE PETANI RIVER BASIN

HAZZEMAN HARIS*, WAN MAZNAH W. O AND MASHHOR MANSOR

School of Biology, Universiti Sains Malaysia,

11800 Pulau Pinang,

Malaysia.

*ha33eman@yahoo.co.uk

ABSTRACT

Water samples collected from 6 sites along the Petani River Basin were analyzed for alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, nitrite, nitrate, ammonia, orthophosphate, total dissolved solids (TDS) and total suspended solids (TSS). River classification was made possible by calculating the Water Quality Index (WQI) where 100 represent the highest water quality. The highest mean WQI was recorded at Petani River-Jetty (54.35) while the lowest mean was recorded at Petani River-Bus (47.59). Generally the sampling stations that were located in the centre of the Sungai Petani town showed lower WQI value compared to the other sampling stations which were located near the Petani River source and near the confluence of the Merbok River. Gelugor River recorded a higher concentration of nitrite and nitrate compared to other sites while Sungai Petani-Jetty has the highest alkalinity and TDS value throughout the whole sampling period. Sungai Petani-Jetty also showed the lowest ammonia concentration. The one-way ANOVA analysis conducted showed no significant differences in the amount of TSS and orthophosphate between all of the sites and sampling interval.

Keywords: Water Quality Index; physico-chemical properties; nutrients

International Conference on Environment 2006 (ICENV 2006)

13-15 November 2006, Penang, Malaysia.

The Effects of Tidal events on Water Quality in the coastal area of Petani River Basin, Malaysia

Hazzeman Haris* and Wan Maznah Wan Omar

School of Biology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.

*Corresponding author: Phone: 013-5019425

Email: ha33eman@hotmail.com

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to assess the effects of tidal events on water quality in the coastal area of Petani River Basin, and to understand the role it plays in the river ecosystem. Water quality characteristics at two sampling stations located near the estuary in Petani River Basin that received sea water intrusion during high tide were analysed. A 24 hours observation, with 4 hours intervals were carried out during neap and spring tide. Conductivity, salinity, temperature, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), nitrite, nitrate, ammonia and orthophosphate were measured. Several parameters were affected by the tidal events such as salinity, conductivity, TDS, alkalinity and nitrite which recorded higher concentrations during high tide, while parameters such as TSS, ammonia and pH were higher during low tide. The effects of tide on the parameters measured were more pronounced during spring tide compared to neap tide which recorded minimal changes in seawater intrusion during high and low tide. This suggested that some water quality parameters are more easily influenced by spring tide and should be taken into consideration in water quality monitoring in rivers affected by tidal events from the sea.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ENVIRONMENT 2008 (ICERT 2008), PENANG, MALAYSIA.

Water Quality Status of Petani River Basin Based on Water Quality Index and Physico-Chemical Properties

Hazzeman Haris* and Wan Maznah Wan Omar

School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.

(*Corresponding author: Tel: 013-5019425, Email: ha33eman@hotmail.com)

ABSTRACT

Water samples were collected from 6 sampling stations along the Petani River Basin. Water Quality Index (WQI) was used to classify the river basin according to the pollution level where 100 represent the highest water quality. The subindex for each parameter used in the WQI equation was calculated. These parameters are dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, pH and ammonia. Other parameters such as alkalinity, nitrite, nitrate, orthophosphate, salinity and TDS were also determined. During the 12 months sampling period, the highest WQI was recorded at the Petani River-Jetty (74.21) in February 2006 and the lowest was recorded at Bakar Arang River (38.54) in August 2006. Generally it can be said that the sampling stations that were located near the town centre and tributaries that flows through industrial area showed lower WQI value compared to other sampling stations that were located further downstream or tributaries that flow through residential areas. Gelugor River recorded a higher concentration of nitrite and nitrate compared to other sampling stations. Petani River-Jetty on the other hand recorded a higher level of total suspended solids (TSS). One-way ANOVA (p less than 0.05) showed no significant differences in the amount of orthophosphate and ammonia between all the sites but there were significant differences between sampling intervals.

Keywords: Water Quality Index, physico-chemical properties, nutrients

THE 2ND REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON ECOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MODELLING 2007 (ECOMOD 2007), PENANG, MALAYSIA