Physicochemical Characteristics of River Water Downstream of a Large Tropical Hydroelectric Dam
Water quality in the downstream river of a hydroelectric dam may be affected by the structural design and operation. To date, little is known about the water quality downstream of the largest dam in Malaysia, the Bakun hydroelectric dam. Therefore, the objective of the study was to determine the w...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Hindawi Publishing Corporation
2016
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| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/13703/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/13703/1/Physicochemical%20Characteristics%20of%20River%20Water%20%28abstract%29.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848837465193840640 |
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| author | Teck-Yee, Ling Chen-Lin, Soo Lee-Eng, Teresa Heng Lee, Nyanti Siong-Fong, Sim Jongkar, Grinang |
| author_facet | Teck-Yee, Ling Chen-Lin, Soo Lee-Eng, Teresa Heng Lee, Nyanti Siong-Fong, Sim Jongkar, Grinang |
| author_sort | Teck-Yee, Ling |
| building | UNIMAS Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Water quality in the downstream river of a hydroelectric dam may be affected by the structural design and operation. To date,
little is known about the water quality downstream of the largest dam in Malaysia, the Bakun hydroelectric dam. Therefore, the
objective of the study was to determine the water quality downstream of the dam when the spillway was closed and when it was
opened. Results of the study indicate that the dam plays a significant role in regulating the water quality downstream of it. When
the spillway was closed, pH and oxygen were lower in the river where DO was below 5mg/L. When the spillway was opened, the
water quality improved in terms of oxygen content (>8.0mg/L), total sulphide (TS), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) but
deteriorated in terms of five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), and total phosphorus (TP).
Additionally, the intensity of the impacts, particularly BOD5, COD, and TAN, shows a declining trend as distance from the dam
increases. This study shows that impacts on the water quality extend to a distance of 32 km from the dam particularly turbidity and
DO and opening the spillway changes the water quality significantly. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T06:40:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | unimas-13703 |
| institution | Universiti Malaysia Sarawak |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T06:40:05Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Hindawi Publishing Corporation |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | unimas-137032016-10-25T02:39:49Z http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/13703/ Physicochemical Characteristics of River Water Downstream of a Large Tropical Hydroelectric Dam Teck-Yee, Ling Chen-Lin, Soo Lee-Eng, Teresa Heng Lee, Nyanti Siong-Fong, Sim Jongkar, Grinang GE Environmental Sciences QD Chemistry Water quality in the downstream river of a hydroelectric dam may be affected by the structural design and operation. To date, little is known about the water quality downstream of the largest dam in Malaysia, the Bakun hydroelectric dam. Therefore, the objective of the study was to determine the water quality downstream of the dam when the spillway was closed and when it was opened. Results of the study indicate that the dam plays a significant role in regulating the water quality downstream of it. When the spillway was closed, pH and oxygen were lower in the river where DO was below 5mg/L. When the spillway was opened, the water quality improved in terms of oxygen content (>8.0mg/L), total sulphide (TS), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) but deteriorated in terms of five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), and total phosphorus (TP). Additionally, the intensity of the impacts, particularly BOD5, COD, and TAN, shows a declining trend as distance from the dam increases. This study shows that impacts on the water quality extend to a distance of 32 km from the dam particularly turbidity and DO and opening the spillway changes the water quality significantly. Hindawi Publishing Corporation 2016 Article PeerReviewed text en http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/13703/1/Physicochemical%20Characteristics%20of%20River%20Water%20%28abstract%29.pdf Teck-Yee, Ling and Chen-Lin, Soo and Lee-Eng, Teresa Heng and Lee, Nyanti and Siong-Fong, Sim and Jongkar, Grinang (2016) Physicochemical Characteristics of River Water Downstream of a Large Tropical Hydroelectric Dam. Journal of Chemistry, 2016. ISSN 2090-9071 https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jchem/2016/7895234/abs/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/7895234 |
| spellingShingle | GE Environmental Sciences QD Chemistry Teck-Yee, Ling Chen-Lin, Soo Lee-Eng, Teresa Heng Lee, Nyanti Siong-Fong, Sim Jongkar, Grinang Physicochemical Characteristics of River Water Downstream of a Large Tropical Hydroelectric Dam |
| title | Physicochemical Characteristics of River Water Downstream of a Large Tropical Hydroelectric Dam |
| title_full | Physicochemical Characteristics of River Water Downstream of a Large Tropical Hydroelectric Dam |
| title_fullStr | Physicochemical Characteristics of River Water Downstream of a Large Tropical Hydroelectric Dam |
| title_full_unstemmed | Physicochemical Characteristics of River Water Downstream of a Large Tropical Hydroelectric Dam |
| title_short | Physicochemical Characteristics of River Water Downstream of a Large Tropical Hydroelectric Dam |
| title_sort | physicochemical characteristics of river water downstream of a large tropical hydroelectric dam |
| topic | GE Environmental Sciences QD Chemistry |
| url | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/13703/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/13703/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/13703/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/13703/1/Physicochemical%20Characteristics%20of%20River%20Water%20%28abstract%29.pdf |