Sains Malaysiana 43(3)(2014): 377–388

Water Quality Status of Selected Rivers in Kota Marudu, Sabah, Malaysia

and its Suitability for Usage

(Status Kualiti Air Beberapa Sungai Terpilih di Kota Marudu, Sabah,

Malaysia dan Kesesuaian Penggunaannya)

AHMAD ZAHARIN ARIS*, WAN YING LIM, SARVA MANGALA PRAVEENA, MOHD KAMIL YUSOFF, MUHAMMAD FIRUZ RAMLI & HAFIZAN JUAHIR

Environmental Forensics Research Centre, Faculty of Environmental Studies

Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

Diserahkan: 27 Disember 2012/Diterima: 7 Jun 2013

ABSTRACT

The water chemistry of selected rivers in Kota Marudu, Sabah was studied based on the major ion chemistry and its suitability for drinking and irrigation purposes. Ten sampling stations were selected and water samples were collected from each station to assess its chemical properties. The physico-chemical variables including temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, turbidity, ammoniacal-nitrogen (NH3-N), biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total suspended solid (TSS) were measured. The cations (K, Mg, Ca, Na) were analyzed by ICP-MS. Most of the variables were within the drinking water quality standards stipulated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health (MOH), Malaysia except for turbidity. Sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and salinity hazard were calculated to identify the suitability of the water as irrigation water. The Wilcox diagram classifies that only 10% of samples are not suitable for the purpose of irrigation. The overall results showed that most of the rivers in Kota Marudu are still in a clean condition and suitable for drinking and irrigation purposes except for Sumbilingan River, which is considered as slightly polluted. The results are supported by the hierarchical cluster analysis as the stations were grouped into two groups; low and high pollution intensities. This preliminary result can update the baseline data of selected water quality parameters in the Kota Marudu and could serve as tool for assisting relevant government bodies in regulating the water resources policies in the future.

Keywords: Guideline; hydrochemistry variation; Kota Marudu; water quality

ABSTRAK

Ciri kimia air bagi beberapa sungai terpilih di Kota Marudu, Sabah telah dikaji berdasarkan ciri kimia utama ion dan kesesuaiannya bagi tujuan air minuman dan pengairan saliran. Sepuluh stesen persampelan telah dipilih dan sampel air telah diambil dari setiap stesen persampelan terbabit untuk menguji sifat kimianya. Pembolehubah kimia-fizikal yang disukat termasuklah suhu, kekonduksian elektrik (EC), jumlah pepejal terlarut (TDS), kemasinan, oksigen terlarut (DO), pH, kekeruhan, nitrat-ammoniaka (NH3-N), permintaan oksigen biologi (BOD), permintaan oksigen kimia (COD) dan juga jumlah pepejal terampai (TSS). Kation (K, Mg, Ca, Na) telah dianalisis menggunakan ICP-MS. Kebanyakan pemboleh ubah ini didapati berada dalam julat piawaian kualiti air minuman (DWQS) yang telah ditetapkan oleh Organisasi Kesihatan Dunia (WHO) serta Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia (MOH), kecuali nilai bagi kekeruhan. Kadar penyerapan natrium (SAR) dan risiko kemasinan telah dikira bagi mengenal pasti kesesuaian air itu bagi tujuan pengairan saliran. Gambaran Wilcox telah mengklasifikasikan hanya 10% daripada sampel itu tidak sesuai bagi tujuan pengairan saliran. Keseluruhan keputusan menunjukkan hampir kesemua sungai di Kota Marudu masih berada dalam keadaan bersih dan sesuai untuk tujuan minuman dan pengairan kecuali air dari Sungai Sumbilingan kerana ia telah dikesan sebagai sedikit tercemar. Keputusan ini telah dikukuhkan lagi dengan analisis kelompok hierarki, memandangkan kesemua stesen persampelan telah dibahagikan kepada dua kumpulan; tahap pencemaran rendah dan tinggi. Keputusan awal ini didapati mampu mengemaskini data sedia ada bagi ciri kualiti air terpilih di Kota Marudu dan seterusnya dapat dijadikan sebagai satu alat untuk membantu badan kerajaan yang berkenaan dalam mengatur polisi sumber air pada masa akan datang.

Kata kunci: Garis panduan; Kota Marudu; kualiti air; variasi hidrokimia

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*Pengarang untuk surat-menyurat; email: zaharin@upm.edu.my