Water quality trend of Batang Kayan and its relation to anthropogenic activities
Biological processes, anthropogenic activities and water resources within a river basin are clearly associated. Thus, water catchment is a good boundary limit to study ecological stress. Over the years, Lundu District has undergone a lot of development especially the agriculture sector. The most...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2004
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/14822/1/Gwendolyne.pdf |
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| Summary: | Biological processes, anthropogenic activities and water resources within a river basin are
clearly associated. Thus, water catchment is a good boundary limit to study ecological
stress. Over the years, Lundu District has undergone a lot of development especially the
agriculture sector. The most dominant land uses in Batang Kayan catchment are oil palm
plantations, paddy irrigation schemes, and shifting cultivations. Most of the agricultural
projects are concentrated along Batang Kayan as they are depending on Batang Kayan as
the source o(water. All the runoffs from the agricultural projects are drained out to
Batang Kayan. Thus, a study was carried out to determine the impacts of land use
changes on water quality and to evaluate the water quality trend (1997 2003) of Batang
Kayan catchment in particular of the Selampit sub-catchment. Field observations, indepth
interviews with the villagers, oil plantation managements and government
agencies, literature search and water quality sampling and analysis gave indications of
water quality issue in this catchment. They are the severe soil erosion, sedimentation and
siltation, and leaching of nutrients. The water quality index (WQI) for the river began to
deteriorate in 1997 with an index of 79 compared to 88 in 1996. This coincides with the
beginning of the massive development of agricultural sector in that district. Human
activities have thus caused significant decreased in water quality. Nonetheless, the water
quality of Batang Kayan has generally improved due to the stringent enforcement by the
government and currently the WQI of the river is 88. |
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