Community Water

Quality Monitoring

Programme in

Malaysia

WEPA International Forum

Water Environmental Governance in Asia

14-15 March 2007 Bangkok

Dr Kalithasan Kailasam

IRBM Programme

Structure

• Introduction

• River Basin

• River Pollution

• River Monitoring Programme

• Community Water Quality Programme

• Case Study – Sungai Pencala

• Challenges

Introduction

• Water is the basic element of life • The usage for water increases as population grows

until the demand sometimes overshoots the supply or availability

• Every watershed is affected by what takes place on the land.

• Rivers reflect the health of the surrounding land• Therefore acquiring knowledge on the ecosystem,

especially river basins will ensure efficient and effective management of rivers and water

Irrigation Scheme

Upper Course of River

Man-made Lake(Reservoir)

Middle Course of River

Lowland River

MangrovesCoral Reef Drop Off

Mudflats

River BasinHead Water

(spring)

River mouth (Delta & Estuary)

SEA/OCEAN

Why are river basins important?• We live, play, and raise our children in river basins. • Our drinking water comes from river basins. • Our river basins provide resources for the economy, recreation,

and wildlife. • Everything that we do on the land is within a river basin.• Protecting our river basins means clean water in our streams.

• A geographic area defined by the flow and movement of surface water.

• All water flows to the same water body (stream, lake) due to elevation and contours of the land.

• Water flow sets the boundaries of a river basin.

What is a river basin?

Rivers in Malaysia

• Malaysia is blessed with abundant rainfall – about 2,000-5,000 mm/year

• This is the source of life to our 189 river systems -150 are major river systems, (Peninsular Malaysia – 100 and Sabah and Sarawak – 50).

• These river systems consist of 1800 major rivers with a total length of 38,000km.

• 30 water reservoirs

• Rivers are important as they support:– Life forms; Economic development; Social and cultural

needs; Religious beliefs; Natural environment

The functions and benefits of rivers in Malaysia

Rivers provide water for:

• Drinking and therefore life

• Agriculture- the rice, fruit and vegetables we eat

• Industry- the car and computers we use

• Domestic use- washing and bathing

Other services:

• Breeding areas for fish, birds and mammals

• Home to many different plants or animals & microorganisms.

• The main mode of transport for some local communities

• Recreational areas for boating, rafting, picnics, swimming and fishing

• Hydropower

Significant increase in demand for water for diverse purposes in the last 50 years :

Current status of water/rivers in Malaysia

Water Demand

• demand is growing at 4% annually

• projected to reach 20 billion m3 by the year 2020.

• rivers form 97% of our fresh water resource

What is the current status of rivers in Malaysia?

River Basin 2002 2003 2004

59 58

53

9

52

9

Clean 63 (53%)

Slightly Polluted 43 (36%)

Very Polluted 14 (12%)

2. Malaysian Water Quality on the Basis of River Basins

*WATER FOR PEOPLE, WATER FOR LIFE – THE UNITED NATIONS WORLD WATER DEVELOPMENT REPORT by UNESCO-WWAP 2003

1. Malaysian Water quality indicator values *.

Indicator Value Country Rank-0.3 Malaysia 87

Business (Industry or Factories) Agriculture

Source of Pollution

Pesticide & Fertilizers

Industrial waste

Sedimentation / siltation

Commercial waste

Solid waste

Organic waste•Human sewage,•Animal waste,•food waste-restaurant•food stall•Car workshop / wash•Oil

HOMES

WATER POLLUTION

UNTREATED INDUSTRIAL EFFLUENT

SiltationSewage

Organic Food Waste

Solid Waste

Pollution Effect & Impact

• bioavailability of portable water– Water Supply

• Flooding– Due to volume of water & retention time

• Ecology – (aquatic life forms )habitat – food supply, breeding site destroyed

• Economy – food production, productivity, cost of production & processing, export market (green consumerism)

• Social – natural behaviors, community livelihoods, our youth’s discipline and crime problems

• Health – wellness of people, human’s productivity,

• Aquatic animal – fish population

The Bottom Line• Pollution affects every living thing

• You can make a difference

If the cause is

HUMAN

then the solution is

HUMAN too

River Management

Cooperation between the government , private sector and community is the key to successful river management

Government

CommunityPrivate Sectors

• Major group of stakeholder

• Who constitutes communities?– all

• Can play a key role in: – pollution prevention– polluter monitoring – water quality monitoring

River Monitoring Programme

Goal• Ultimate goal of river monitoring is to sustain or

improve the health of its ecosystem for the use of inhabitants of the earth

Purpose• Survey streams and water sources to assess its physical

condition.• Identify areas where water quality degradation exist

and investigate its causes and sources.• Provide a comprehensive database to analyze trends in

water quality.• Indicate areas where water quality needs improvement

and how this can be achieved

Awareness Knowledge Skill

Exhibition, posters, Talk, workshop, seminar

Book, CD,website, newsletter

Training, Demonstration

Pollution PreventionPolluter MonitoringWater Quality

HOW?

Monitoring

• To educate the public (local community & school students) on rivers and river basin management

• Become the eyes & ears of rivers

• practice “Health Assessment of Streams/Rivers”

• Monitoring programme

– River, Water & Drainage mapping,

– River report card

– Water quality testing

– Biomonitoring

Step 1 Identifying 20 people/students as River Ranger core members

Step 2 Formation of RR club and Working committeeStep 3 Training RR members

Step 4 Carry out planned activities inclusive of monthly Water Quality monitoring

Step 5 Data collection & management and upload data in website www.gecnet.info or www.sungaipencala.info

Step 6 Report generation

Step 7 Report and finding submission

River Ranger Monitoring Programme

River Plotting/Mapping

October 2004

Drainage marking

ExhibitionEnvironmental Talk

Teachers Training – RR Web development

Field Training - skill

School students

School students

community

Special children

Media

Water monitoring

1. Environment Camp 2. Environment Education Handbook

A Resource Book for Teachers;A Student Activity Book

3. SMART Ranger4. River Watch

Health Assessment

• To determine the age or level of enrichment of a river/lake, and the degree to which it has been affected by development/pollution

• By checking and caring for the health of your river

• By learning to read the language of the rivers.

• periodically sampling for measuring trends and changes.

• Generally there are 3 ways to check the river condition:

– Physical/Visual Observation,

– Chemical Monitoring and

– Biological Monitoring

RIVER REPORT CARD

Physical observations

• Assess the overall health of our river using our 5 senses

• Hydrology, Ecology & Visual observations

•Turbidity / color of river •Smell

•Erosion •Drainage

•Rubbish •General land use

•Aquatic organism (fish, prawns) •River vegetation (wetland..)

•Stream’s origin & type •Width, depth, water flow

Chemical Monitoring

• Use tests to evaluate and determine the quality of water sampled

• is one of the most accurate and reliable testing methods.

• It is extremely useful for determining sources of pollution, as well as determining specific pollutants.

• temperature, DO, pH, turbidity, nutrients, TSS, COD & fecal coliform bacteria

• They are easy to measure and require relatively inexpensiveequipment.

• River water quality is identified based on the presence of living organisms in that area.

• Two frequent groups of living organisms used:

• fish (vertebrata)

• invertebrate

Biological observations

Biomonitoring

☺

Sign Indicator Water Quality

☺ Very sensitive Excellent

Sensitive Good

Moderate OK

Tolerance Poor

Non-indicator animals None

CASE STUDY

Sungai Pencala Rehabilitation Programme

Sungai Pencala

Sg Klang

K U A L A L U M P U R

P E T A L I N G J A Y A

S U B A N G J A Y A

P U C H O N G

Sg Pencala

Peta Sungai Pencala

• Catchment area : 28 km2 with 31.4 km of trunk drains

• 12 km long urban river

• Two state :

– Federal Territory (23%)

– Selangor (77%)

• 70% of river basin has been developed and has been concrete-lined

• Water Quality : Class IV-V

Sg Pencala River Basin

Project Objectives• Establish partnership with the government, community

and private sector for clean up and management of river

• Reduce pollution by people and industry

• Clean up river and rehabilitation of selected sections

Project TargetsProject management group Rubbish free river

Education programmes Improve access to river

Protection of the river corridor

Construction of River Path

Watershed management plan Ecological restoration

Constant visit to the river Improve water quality

Problem

• Solid waste/Domestic waste/Illegal rubbish dumping

• Siltation/Sedimentation/Erosion

• Sewage partially treated sewage effluent

• Industrial waste

• Food/Kitchen Waste

• Channelisation

Full Board

Committees

President

Secretary

DepartmentsDept. of Development

PlanningUNIT of LA 21 PJ

LA 21 Committee

Unit plays the role as catalyst, facilitator and coordinator

Existing Implementing LA21

LA 21 Working Com. Working Groups

Implementation Mechanism

Communities

Private

NGO

Agencies

Media

Academia

Pilotproject

Kelana Jaya & Pencala River Rehabilitation Programme

SK 1- R

SK 2- R

SK 3- RSK 4- L

SK 5- LSK 6- RSK 8- L

SK 7- RSK 9- R

SK 10- LSK 11- L SK 12- L

SK 13- L

SK 14- L

SK 15- LSK 16- L

SK 17- LSK 18- L

SK 18- R

SK 19- R

SK 20- L SK 21- L

SK 22- LSK 22- R –Johnson Suisse

SK 23- R

SK 24- LSK 25- L

SK 26- R

SK 27- R

SK 28- L

PETUNJUK

SK-L Salur Keluar KiriSK-R Salur Keluar KananKS Kawasan SetingganPS Perangkap SampahKL Kawasan Lanskap

Bil Kawasan Punca Pencemaran

1. SK1-R KAWASAN PERUMAHAN & PEMBANGUNAN

2. SK2-R3. SK3-R4. SK4-L5. SK5-L6. SK6-R7. SK7-R8. SK8- L KAWASAN PERINDUSTRIAN

9. SK9-R

10. SK10-L11. SK11-L12. SK12-L13. SK13-L14. SK14-L15. SK15-L16. SK16-L17. SK17-L18. SK18-L19. SK18-R20. SK19-R21. SK20-L22. SK21-L23. SK22-L24. SK22-R25. SK23-R26. SK24-L27. SK25-L28. SK26-R29. SK27-R30. SK28-R31. SK28-L32. SK29-L33. SK30-R34. SK31-R35. SK32-R36. SK33-R37. SK34-L38. SK35-R39. SK36-R40. SK37-L41. SK38-R42. SK39-R KAWASAN PERINDUSTRIAN

43. SK39-L44. SK40-L KAWASAN PERUMAHAN 45. SK41-L46. SK42-L47. SK42-R48. SK43-R49. SK44-R50. SK45-R51. SK46-L52. SK47-R 53. SK48-R54. SK49-L KAWASAN PERUMAHAN 55. SK50-R KAWASAN PERINDUSTRIAN56. SK50-L57. SK51-L58. SK52-L59. SK52-R60. SK53-L61. SK54-L62. SK55-L63. SK56-L64. SK57-L65. SK58-L66. SK58-R67. SK59-L68. SK59-R69. SK60-L70. SK60-R 71. SK61-L KAWASAN PERINDUSTRIAN72. SK62-L KAWASAN PERUMAHAN DAN SETINGGAN73. SK63-L74. SK63-R75. SK64-L76. SK65-L77. SK66-L78. SK66-R79. SK67-L80. SK67-R81. SK68-L82. SK69-L83. SK70-R84. SK71-L85. SK72-L 86. SK73-L87. SK73-R89. SK74-L90. SK74-R91. SK75-R92. SK76-L93. SK77-R94. SK78-L95. SK79-L96. SK79-R97. SK80-L98. SK81-L99. SK82-R100. SK82-L101. SK83-L102. SK84-R103. SK85-R104. SK86-R105. SK87-R106. SK88-R107. SK89-R108. SK90-R109. SK91-L KAWASAN PEMBANGUNAN

SK 29- L

SK 28- RSK 30- R

SK 31- RSK 32- R

SK 33- RSK 34- L

Sampah Sarap di Kg Damansara Dalam

Sampah Sarap di Kg Damansara Dalam

SK–37L - Amway

SK2-R – Kg Penaga

SK 35- R

SK 36- R

SK 38- R

SK 39- L

SK 39- RSK 40- L

SK 41- LSK 42- R

SK 42- LSK 43- R

SK 44- R

SK 45- R

SK 49- L

SK 46- L

SK 47- R

SK 48- RSK 50- LSK 50- R

SK 51- LSK 52- RSK 52- L

SK 59- LSK 58- L

SK 57- LSK 56- LSK 55- LSK 54- L

SK 53- LSK 59- R

SK 58- R

SK 60- R

SK 60- LSK 63 - RSK 61 - L

SK 62- LSK 63- LSK 64- LSK 65- LSK 66- L

SK 67- LSK 68- L

SK 69- L

SK 66 - R

SK 67 - R

SK 68 - R

SK 70 - R

SK 71 - L

SK 72 - LSK 73- L

SK 74 - LSK 76 - L

SK 79 - LSK 78 - L

SK 80 - LSK 81 - L

SK 82 - LSK 83 - L

SK 73- RSK 74- R

SK 75- R

SK 77- RSK 79- R SK 81- R

SK 82- RSK 84- R

SK 85- RSK 86- R

SK 87- RSK 88- R

SK 91 - L

SK 89- RSK 89- R

Pollution Mapping

3

8

107

6

5

2

9

12

14

13

1

4

Sungai Pencala Water Sampling Sites

11

W1 : Stream upon Bukit Kiara W2 : After KLGCC before Rimba Kiara W3 : Behind TTDI market W4 : After the bridge Caltex petrol station

W5 : A long Section 19 W6 : Near GEC’s office W7 : Bridge behind BAT W8 : NAZA showroom

W9 : Tributary from Taman Aman W10 : Tributary from Taman Jaya W11 : Tributary from JlnTempler/Tandang

W12 : Tributary from Sg Way (guinnes)

W13: After the Federal Highway (AVON) W14 : Kg Medan (Sg Klang)

Biological Monitoring Water Quality Testing

Construction of wetland cell to treat sewage effluent

Local actions

RA Sect 19

FMM Selangor & MBPJ

Friends of TamanAman

Friends of BukitGasing

Friends of Bukit

Kiara

Bukit KiaraLong House

RA

Kg Medan/ATHMA

DID Wilayah;

DBKL;

YAWA

DID Selangor

DID Petaling

MBPJ;

LOVE from China

OUR VISION

• We envisage to have clean and living rivers again

• River banks are covered with native vegetation and are home to many native animals.

• People live harmoniously with rivers

• The river will again be an attractive place and enjoyed by the public

• Sustainable irrigation and agriculture practices that benefits all including the environment

Challenges

• Effective and analytical monitoring of environmental indicators

• How their results can help or support government agencies efforts to protect the environment

• Funding

healthier environment; better economy;

more cohesive society