Seasonal Changes and Spatial Variation in Water Quality of a Large Young Tropical Reservoir and Its Downstream River

This study examined the water quality of the large young tropical Bakun hydroelectric reservoir in Sarawak, Malaysia, and the influence of the outflow on the downstream river during wet and dry seasons.Water quality was determined at five stations in the reservoir at three different depths and one d...

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Main Authors: Ling, Teck Yee, Norliza, Gerunsin, Soo, Chen Lin, Lee, Nyanti, Sim, Siong Fong, Jongkar, Grinang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Publishing Corporation 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/17164/
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/17164/7/Seasonal.pdf
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author Ling, Teck Yee
Norliza, Gerunsin
Soo, Chen Lin
Lee, Nyanti
Sim, Siong Fong
Jongkar, Grinang
author_facet Ling, Teck Yee
Norliza, Gerunsin
Soo, Chen Lin
Lee, Nyanti
Sim, Siong Fong
Jongkar, Grinang
author_sort Ling, Teck Yee
building UNIMAS Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This study examined the water quality of the large young tropical Bakun hydroelectric reservoir in Sarawak, Malaysia, and the influence of the outflow on the downstream river during wet and dry seasons.Water quality was determined at five stations in the reservoir at three different depths and one downstream station. The results show that seasons impacted the water quality of the Bakun Reservoir, particularly in the deeper water column. Significantly lower turbidity, SRP, and TP were found during the wet season. At 3–6m, the oxygen content fell below 5 mg/L and hypoxia was also recorded. Low NO2 −-N, NO3−-N, and SRP and high BOD5,OKN, and TPwere observed in the reservoir indicating organic pollution.Active logging activities and the damconstruction upstream resulted in water quality deterioration. The outflow decreased the temperature, DO, and pH and increased the turbidity and TSS downstream. Elevated organicmatter and nutrients downstream are attributable to domestic discharge along the river.This study shows that the downstream river was affected by the discharge through the turbines, the spillway operations, and domestic waste. Therefore, all these factors should be taken into consideration in the downstream river management for the health of the aquatic organisms.
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institution Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
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publishDate 2017
publisher Hindawi Publishing Corporation
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spelling unimas-171642022-06-21T07:01:23Z http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/17164/ Seasonal Changes and Spatial Variation in Water Quality of a Large Young Tropical Reservoir and Its Downstream River Ling, Teck Yee Norliza, Gerunsin Soo, Chen Lin Lee, Nyanti Sim, Siong Fong Jongkar, Grinang GE Environmental Sciences This study examined the water quality of the large young tropical Bakun hydroelectric reservoir in Sarawak, Malaysia, and the influence of the outflow on the downstream river during wet and dry seasons.Water quality was determined at five stations in the reservoir at three different depths and one downstream station. The results show that seasons impacted the water quality of the Bakun Reservoir, particularly in the deeper water column. Significantly lower turbidity, SRP, and TP were found during the wet season. At 3–6m, the oxygen content fell below 5 mg/L and hypoxia was also recorded. Low NO2 −-N, NO3−-N, and SRP and high BOD5,OKN, and TPwere observed in the reservoir indicating organic pollution.Active logging activities and the damconstruction upstream resulted in water quality deterioration. The outflow decreased the temperature, DO, and pH and increased the turbidity and TSS downstream. Elevated organicmatter and nutrients downstream are attributable to domestic discharge along the river.This study shows that the downstream river was affected by the discharge through the turbines, the spillway operations, and domestic waste. Therefore, all these factors should be taken into consideration in the downstream river management for the health of the aquatic organisms. Hindawi Publishing Corporation 2017 Article PeerReviewed text en http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/17164/7/Seasonal.pdf Ling, Teck Yee and Norliza, Gerunsin and Soo, Chen Lin and Lee, Nyanti and Sim, Siong Fong and Jongkar, Grinang (2017) Seasonal Changes and Spatial Variation in Water Quality of a Large Young Tropical Reservoir and Its Downstream River. Journal of Chemistry, 2017. ISSN 2090-9071 https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/8153246 doi : 10.1155/2017/8153246
spellingShingle GE Environmental Sciences
Ling, Teck Yee
Norliza, Gerunsin
Soo, Chen Lin
Lee, Nyanti
Sim, Siong Fong
Jongkar, Grinang
Seasonal Changes and Spatial Variation in Water Quality of a Large Young Tropical Reservoir and Its Downstream River
title Seasonal Changes and Spatial Variation in Water Quality of a Large Young Tropical Reservoir and Its Downstream River
title_full Seasonal Changes and Spatial Variation in Water Quality of a Large Young Tropical Reservoir and Its Downstream River
title_fullStr Seasonal Changes and Spatial Variation in Water Quality of a Large Young Tropical Reservoir and Its Downstream River
title_full_unstemmed Seasonal Changes and Spatial Variation in Water Quality of a Large Young Tropical Reservoir and Its Downstream River
title_short Seasonal Changes and Spatial Variation in Water Quality of a Large Young Tropical Reservoir and Its Downstream River
title_sort seasonal changes and spatial variation in water quality of a large young tropical reservoir and its downstream river
topic GE Environmental Sciences
url http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/17164/
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/17164/
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/17164/
http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/17164/7/Seasonal.pdf