Water quality status and heavy metal contains in selected rivers at tasik chini due to increasing land use activities

This study investigates the current water quality levels in the rivers around Lake Chini namely Jemberau River and Chini River during the dry season of 2018 and the rainy season of 2019. There are thirteen types of water quality parameters and seven types of heavy metals have been made xperimental and classified based on the Water Quality Index which is from the Department of Environment (DOE-WQI) and the National Water Quality Interim Standard, Malaysia (INWQS). There are chemical and physical parameters that have been analyzed such as pH, temperature, turbidity, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Suspended Solids (SS), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Ammonia Nitrogen (NH3-N), Potassium (K), Nitrate (N) and Phosphorus (P) were analyzed at the sample site and laboratory experiments were also performed. In addition, there are seven types of heavy metals that have been tested in the laboratory to determine the concentration of heavy metals contained in the water samples from the Chini River and the Jemberau River which are Copper (Cu), Chromium (Cr) Cadmium (Cd), Ferrum (Fe), Zinc (Zn), Manganese (Mn) and Lead (Pb) were tested using laboratory tools named as Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). Based on the results of the study conducted according to the Water Quality Index (WQI), the water quality at selected locations which are Jemberau River and Chini River located near Lake Chini was classified as Class III which means water in the river requires extensive treatment to ensure water quality return clean and safe to use as drinking water to the locals in the future. According to the results of the study, there are activities conducted around Lake Chini which have caused water pollution which involves the release of heavy metals. Among the activities identified as the main cause of water pollution in Lake Chini are iron mining, agriculture, illegal logging and waste disposal from residential areas such as the National Service Training Program (PLKN)