Sustainable river water quality management in Malaysia

Ecological status of Malaysia is not as bad as many other developing nations in the world. However, despite the enforcement of the Environmental Quality Act (EQA) in 1974, the water quality of Malaysian inland water (especially rivers) is following deteriorating trend. The rivers are mainly pollu...

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Main Authors:	Al-Mamun, Abdullah, Zainudin, Zaki
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	IIUM Press 2013
Subjects:	TD169 Environmental protection
Online Access:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/30689/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/30689/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/30689/1/Published_paper_266-1805-4-PB.pdf

id	iium-30689
recordtype	eprints
spelling	iium-306892014-07-22T01:26:34Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/30689/ Sustainable river water quality management in Malaysia Al-Mamun, Abdullah Zainudin, Zaki TD169 Environmental protection Ecological status of Malaysia is not as bad as many other developing nations in the world. However, despite the enforcement of the Environmental Quality Act (EQA) in 1974, the water quality of Malaysian inland water (especially rivers) is following deteriorating trend. The rivers are mainly polluted due to the point and nonpoint pollution sources. Point sources are monitored and controlled by the Department of Environment (DOE), whereas a significant amount of pollutants is contributed by untreated sullage and storm runoff. Nevertheless, it is not too late to take some bold steps for the effective control of non-point source pollution and untreated sullage discharge, which play significant roles on the status of the rivers. This paper reviews the existing procedures and guidelines related to protection of the river water quality in Malaysia. There is a good possibility that the sewage and effluent discharge limits in the Environmental Quality Act (EQA) may pose hindrance against achieving good quality water in the rivers as required by the National Water Quality Standards (NWQS). For instance, Ammoniacal Nitrogen (NH3-N) is identified as one of the main pollutants to render many of the rivers polluted but it was not considered in the EQA as a monitoring parameter until the new regulations published in 2009. Surprisingly, the new regulation for sewage and industrial effluent limits set allowable NH3-N concentration quite high (5 mg/L), which may result in low Water Quality Index (WQI) values for the river water. The water environment is a dynamic system. Periodical review of the monitoring requirements, detecting emerging pollutants in sewage, effluent and runoff, and proper revision of water quality standards are necessary for the management of sustainable water resources in the country. IIUM Press 2013 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/30689/1/Published_paper_266-1805-4-PB.pdf Al-Mamun, Abdullah and Zainudin, Zaki (2013) Sustainable river water quality management in Malaysia. IIUM Engineering Journal, 14 (1). pp. 29-42. ISSN 1511-788X http://journals.iium.edu.my/ejournal/index.php/iiumej/article/view/266
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	International Islamic University Malaysia
building	IIUM Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English
topic	TD169 Environmental protection
spellingShingle	TD169 Environmental protection Al-Mamun, Abdullah Zainudin, Zaki Sustainable river water quality management in Malaysia
description	Ecological status of Malaysia is not as bad as many other developing nations in the world. However, despite the enforcement of the Environmental Quality Act (EQA) in 1974, the water quality of Malaysian inland water (especially rivers) is following deteriorating trend. The rivers are mainly polluted due to the point and nonpoint pollution sources. Point sources are monitored and controlled by the Department of Environment (DOE), whereas a significant amount of pollutants is contributed by untreated sullage and storm runoff. Nevertheless, it is not too late to take some bold steps for the effective control of non-point source pollution and untreated sullage discharge, which play significant roles on the status of the rivers. This paper reviews the existing procedures and guidelines related to protection of the river water quality in Malaysia. There is a good possibility that the sewage and effluent discharge limits in the Environmental Quality Act (EQA) may pose hindrance against achieving good quality water in the rivers as required by the National Water Quality Standards (NWQS). For instance, Ammoniacal Nitrogen (NH3-N) is identified as one of the main pollutants to render many of the rivers polluted but it was not considered in the EQA as a monitoring parameter until the new regulations published in 2009. Surprisingly, the new regulation for sewage and industrial effluent limits set allowable NH3-N concentration quite high (5 mg/L), which may result in low Water Quality Index (WQI) values for the river water. The water environment is a dynamic system. Periodical review of the monitoring requirements, detecting emerging pollutants in sewage, effluent and runoff, and proper revision of water quality standards are necessary for the management of sustainable water resources in the country.
format	Article
author	Al-Mamun, Abdullah Zainudin, Zaki
author_facet	Al-Mamun, Abdullah Zainudin, Zaki
author_sort	Al-Mamun, Abdullah
title	Sustainable river water quality management in Malaysia
title_short	Sustainable river water quality management in Malaysia
title_full	Sustainable river water quality management in Malaysia
title_fullStr	Sustainable river water quality management in Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed	Sustainable river water quality management in Malaysia
title_sort	sustainable river water quality management in malaysia
publisher	IIUM Press
publishDate	2013
url	http://irep.iium.edu.my/30689/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/30689/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/30689/1/Published_paper_266-1805-4-PB.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T20:44:54Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T20:44:54Z
_version_	1777409609336619008

Sustainable river water quality management in Malaysia

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