Water quality assessment of the rivers in bauxite mining area at Kuantan Pahang

This study was carried out to determine the water quality assessment in nearby rivers that in bauxite mining area. Water samples were collected at Kuantan River, Riau River, Pinang River and Pandan Rivers. In situ parameters used in this study were Temperature, pH, DO, TDS and BOD. Laboratory parameters analyzed in this study were TSS, Turbidity and COD. WQI was calculated using the formula from DOE 2012. Results showed that One-Way ANOVA test (P < 0.05) for Temperature, DO, Ammonia-Nitrogen, BOD, TSS, Turbidity and COD had significantly different between the rivers while pH and TDS shows not significantly different between the rivers. WQI of Kuantan River, Pandan River, Riau River and Pinang River were 77.141, 77.478, 81.238 and 83.164 respectively. All these rivvers were classified into class II based on INWQS and required conventional treatment for water supply purposes.Keywords: bauxite; water quality index; water quality; Pahan