Assessment on Water Quality and Selected Heavy Metals Concentrations in Sungai Rual, Jeli, Kelantan

Water is a vital substance in the earth and required by the living organism for various purposes such as drinking, irrigation, industrial, domestic, hydroelectricity and also for recreational activity. This study was carried out to determine water quality and heavy metals; lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) concentrations in Sungai Rual, Jeli, and Kelantan. The collection of water samples with triplicate measurement at six sampling stations in two months of August and September. Methods used to analyse the physico-chemical parameters were in-situ Analysis and Laboratory Analysis. In-situ analysis included pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), turbidity and conductivity. Biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solid (TSS), ammoniacal nitrogen (NH;-N) and heavy metals were conducted in the laboratory. From the result obtained, the temperature was approximately 24°C and the pH values ranged normally. Turbidity was ranged between 17.1 to 24.03 NTU while conductivity ranged between 26 uS/cm to 33.6 uS/cm. The DO values ranged from 7.41 to 11.08 mg/L and the BOD reading was 3.09 to 3.38 mg/L. COD, TSS and NH;-N values were higher at station 4 where the reading were 27.3 mg/L, 20 mg/L and 0.29 mg/L. Most of the physico-chemical parameters showed there were within the benchmark set by the standards of DOE and NWQS. Non parametric test, Kruskal-Wallis and Pearson correlation analysis were conducted. There were positive correlation between pH and BOD (l':0.03l), pH and TSS (r=0.025), EC and COD (r=0.0005), EC and NH;-N (r=0.03 1), and also COD and NH;-N (r=0.031). For heavy metals, the result obtained showed the presence of Pb and Cd in the river with Pb ranged between 0.002 to 0.003 mg/L, and Cd ranged between 0.0002 to 0.0003 mg/L. The river has been classified as Class III based on DOE-WQI, means the river required extensive treatment for the usage of water supply. The authorities should take action in controlling the condition of the river and establish the awareness of importance of river water among the community.