Water quality is always affected by a wide range of human and natural factors which is commonly a result of mismanagement of land, dumping of rubbish and unintentional introduction of chemical material into the river. The rivers in Kuala Selangor and Sabak Bernam districts which lie in active agriculture and aquaculture activities are also not spared from pollution. This study focused on water quality investigation and source of pollution identification in seven rivers in Kuala Selangor and Sabak Bernam. The water quality parameters investigated were Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Suspended Solids (SS), pH and Ammoniacal Nitrogen (AN). Water Quality Index (WQI) was then calculated based on Department of Environmental guidelines. Based on the WQI results, Sungai Selangor and Sungai Tengi were classified as Class III showing slightly polluted, while Sungai Buloh, Sungai Nibong, Sungai Haji Dorani, Sungai Besar (Bagan Cina), Sungai Besar (Parit Timur) and Sungai Bernam were classified as Class IV or polluted. The industrial, residential, agricultural activities in the surrounding area of the rivers that were suspected of being sources of river pollution were also identified.
The vertical flow filtration method has been used for this research based on four distinct circumstances of filtration through coconut husks, filtration through raw sugarcane bagasse, filtration through combination of coconut husks with limestone and filtration through sugarcane bagasse combined with limestone. Coconut husks is one of the biodegradable materials that high in water absorption. For sugarcane bagasse, it is one of the most abundant lignocellulosic agro-industrial residues remaining after the crushing and extraction of juice from sugarcane stalks. Both of materials can be used as filtration at home for domestic purpose. Before the filtration are carried out, coconut husks and sugarcane bagasse have been washed with distilled water to make sure the materials were completely free of any other substances. They will be dried in the oven for 24 hours at 100°C to ensure that the materials were completely dry and that the filtered water did not cause foreign smell or taste. Coconut husks and sugarcane bagasse have been compacted to a height of up to 3cm along particles of these materials were sufficiently dense to ensure filtering process efficiency. The test on the physical properties and heavy metals of greywater before and after filtration process have been carried out. The tests have been measured parameter of physical properties of pH, turbidity and colour as well as heavy metals namely Copper, Zinc and Iron defined as being among essential heavy metals usually found in greywater. The results of these tests are recorded and compared with standard to know the effectiveness of coconut husks and sugarcane bagasse for treatment of greywater.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.