Water Quality Study at Sembrong Dam Reservoir in Johor

Abstract

Rivers play a major role for communities especially in fisheries and as a source of water for people residing within the vicinity. Water quality is of utmost importance and it covers a wide range of approaches and conflicts. Water is super abundant on the planet, as whole, but fresh potable water is not always available at the right time or the right place for human or ecosystem use [3]. Water quality refers to the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. It is a measure of the condition of water relative to the requirements of one or more biotic species and or to any human need or purpose. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance can be assessed. Sembrong dam reservoir was built by damming a river. When a reservoir is built along a river’s flow, the physical, chemical and biological conditions of the river are disrupted to some degree [2]. Since Sembrong dam reservoir is constructed on large lowland rivers with gradually sloping banks, it can be characterized by inundation of large areas, extreme horizontal variability with extensive shallows riparian vegetation and shallow reservoir. Such reservoir is usually eutrophic and high natural organic load are likely to contribute to the formation of an anoxic hypolimnion [9]. Shallow reservoir is usually well mixed by wind, and this leads to non-stratified condition [7]. Therefore, Sembrong dam reservoir can be categorized as shallow unstratified reservoir.