MMJ24203 Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering

WATER QUALITY FOR WATER RESOURCES

MANAGEMENT

SITI KAMARIAH MD SA’AT

FKTM
UNIMAP
WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

• Water Resources Management is the integrating concept for a number of water

sub-sectors such as hydropower, water supply and sanitation, irrigation and
drainage, and environment.
• An integrated water resources perspective ensures that social, economic,
environmental and technical dimensions are taken into account in the
management and development of water resources.
• Water management is a scientific, technological, economical, administrative and
executive activity, which aims at optimal phasing of the natural water cycle and
the water needs of the society.
• It can be defined as the implementation of best practices for effective quantitative
and qualitative planning, development, distribution, and utilization of water.
ISSUES AND PROBLEM
 Water management is the control and movement of water resources
to minimize damage to life and property, and to maximize efficient
beneficial use. Good water management of dams and levees
reduces the risk of harm due to flooding.
 Issues and problems include:
 Flooding
 Water scarcity
 Water quality
 Sedimentation
 Law and Legislation
INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

 Defined as :
“co-ordinated management of resources in a natural
environment (water, land, flora, fauna) based on river basin as a
geographical unit, with the objective of balancing man’s needs
with the necessity of conserving resources to ensure their
sustainability”
WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT CONCEPT
WATER RESOURCES IN MALAYSIA

 Malaysia receives abundant rainfall averaging 3,000 mm annually

that contributes to an estimated annual water resource of some 900
billion cubic metres.
 About 97% of our raw water supply for agricultural, domestic and
industrial needs are derived from surface water sources primarily
rivers.
 Malaysia has 189 river basins - 89 in Peninsular Malaysia, 78 in
Sabah and 22 in Sarawak. All the rivers originate and flow from the
highlands.
 GROUNDWATER AS WATER RESOURCES
 Study of subsurface flow is equally
important since about 30% of the world’s
freshwater resources exist in the form of
groundwater.
 Further, the subsurface water forms a
critical input for the sustenance of life and
vegetation in arid zones.
 Groundwater is derived from precipitation
and recharge from surface water. It is the
water that has infiltrated into the earth
directly from precipitation, recharge from
streams and other natural water bodies and
artificial recharge due to action of man.
SDG6: CLEAN WATER AND
SANITATION

“By 2030, improve water quality

by reducing pollution, eliminating
dumping and minimizing release
of hazardous chemicals and
materials, halving the proportion
of untreated wastewater and
substantially increasing recycling
and safe reuse globally”.
WATER QUALITY

 The term “quality,” as applied to water, indicates its physical, chemical,

and biological characteristics.
 The “characteristics” influence the suitability of water for an intended use.
 To irrigate in a sustainable manner, it is essential to know the quality of
the water.
 Even water of reasonable quality may negatively affect the soil if salinity
levels concentrate over time.
 When considering whether or not to incorporate irrigation as farming
practice, it is important to assess the water quality characteristics, land
suitability, and crop limitations.
POLLUTION SOURCES

Point sources Non-point sources

 Sources of pollution can easily  Sources of pollution cannot be easily
identified/specific location identified
 Municipal and industries discharge  Combination of pollution from the
pipes, power plants, sewage large area
treatment plant  Acid rain, agricultural runoff, Urban
runoff: construction sites, gardens,
parking lots
WATER POLLUTION SOURCES

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now#whatis
 WATER QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS

 Physical Water Quality Parameters

 Chemical Water Quality Parameters
 Biological Water Quality Parameters

https://sensorex.com/three-main-types-of-water-quality-paramete
PHYSICAL WATER QUALITY PARAMETERS
 Suspended solids (SS)
 Turbidity
 Colour
 Taste and Odour
 Temperature
 Electrical Conductivity
(EC)
CHEMICAL WATER QUALITY PARAMETER
 Total Dissolves Solid
 Alkalinity (pH)
 Hardness
 Organics
 BOD
 COD

 Nutrients
 Nitrogen
 Phosphorus

 Heavy Metals
 mercury, cadmium, pH meter
copper, zinc, nickel, lead,
chromium, aluminium and
cobalt
CHEMICAL WQ ANALYSIS

Test Kits and Spectrophotometers

BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD)

 One of the key water-quality parameters is the five day

biochemical oxygen demand test (sometimes referred to as the
biological oxygen demand test, or BOD5 @20oC).
 This is a measure of the oxygen required by bacteria and other
micro-organisms to break down organic matter in a water
sample.
 It is an indirect measure of the amount of organic matter in a
water sample, and gives an indication of how much dissolved
oxygen could be removed from water as the organic matter
decays.
 The test is simple to perform and easily replicable. A sample of
water needs to be taken, placed in a clean, darkened glass
bottle and left to reach 20°C. Once this has occurred the
dissolved oxygen content should be measured daily for 5 days.
NUTRIENTS AND EUTROPHICATION
 An overabundance of nutrients—primarily nitrogen and
phosphorus—in water starts a process called
eutrophication: The enrichment of a water body with
nutrients
 Nitrogen and phosphorus are essential to all life. Both
are essential aquatic nutrients for plant growth.
 Algae feed on the nutrients, growing, spreading, and
turning the water green. Algae blooms can smell bad,
block sunlight, and even release toxins in some cases.
These dense growths are generally undesirable to
water uses and may interfere with other forms of
aquatic life.
 If the water body undergoes an algae bloom, then algal
debris accumulates as a result of the sudden death of
the algal bloom.
From:  The decomposition of this oxidizable bloom consumes
https://onlinesciencenotes.com/eutrophication-causes-eff dissolved oxygen. If dissolved oxygen get lower,
ects-and-controlling-measures/ aquatic life and fish are stressed. If it gets very low
many organisms will die.
NITROGEN CYCLE
 Nitrogen exists in the freshwater environment in four main
forms:
 organic nitrogen – proteins, amino acids and urea

 ammonia – either as free ammonia (NH3) or the ammonium ion

(NH4+)
 nitrite (NO2–)

 nitrate (NO3–).

 Nitrogen in water also known as nitrates and perhaps also the

simpler nitrogen compounds are absorbed and used by the
aquatic plants for the synthesis of amino acids and proteins.
 The Nitrogen Cycle is the biogeochemical cycle that describes
the transformation and translocation of nitrogen (N) in soil,
water, and living and dead organic material.
 Nitrogen in the form of dissolved nitrate is a major nutrient
required by vegetation. The very high importance of nitrogen
in aquatic ecosystems rests upon its role in the synthesis and
maintenance of protein that is along with carbohydrates and
fats, a major constituent of living substance.
PHOSPHORUS
PHOSPHORUS CYCLE
 Phosphorus starts out in rocks and then phosphates
are washed off the rocks over a period of time by
weathering and rain. After that, phosphate is
distributed into soil and water.
 Plants then take up phosphate from the soil, and
animals may consume these plants. When this
happens, the phosphate becomes imbedded into
organic molecules (DNA). When plants and animals
die and decompose, phosphate will return to the
 The cycle is largely affected by the production
soil.
and use of fertilizers made from phosphorus
 Organic forms of phosphate can be made accessible
and animal manure that contains phosphorus.
to plants by bacteria which break down the organic  Soil cannot absorb all the fertilizers, so it
matter. Once this happens, the phosphate is
eventually gets washed away with other
changed to an inorganic form of phosphorus (this is
known as mineralization). surface runoff. This will cause an increased
amount of phosphorus in the water bodies.
 Once the phosphorus is in the soil, it can be
Consequently, eutrophication will occur.
transferred to waterways and then oceans. After this
phosphorus can be integrated into sediments and
rock and the cycle starts again.
 BIOLOGICAL WATER
QUALITY PARAMETERS

 Bacteria
 Virus
 Algae
WATER QUALITY REQUIREMENTS
WASTEWATER EFFLUENT STANDARDS
WATER QUALITY MONITORING
MALAYSIA RIVER WQ STATUS
WATER QUALITY CONTROL
 Legislation:
 Comprehensive Water Law
 Zoning/protecting catchment areas
 Better enforcement
 Financial
 Huge investments needed to improve water sector
 Privatisation
 Water tariffs - conservation, affordability
 Planning
 Integrated River Basin Management
 Education and Public Awareness
 Public campaigns
 Targeting the young
EROSION AND RESERVOIR SEDIMENTATION

 Erosion, transportation and deposition of sediment in a watershed

are natural processes which are intimately connected with the
hydrologic processes.
 Soil and water conservation in watershed and reservoir
sedimentation are important parameters affecting the success and
economy of many water-resources development activities in a basin.
Erosion
RIVER DEPOSIT SEDIMENT
 Deposition is when material transported by a river is
dropped. Material deposited by a river is known
as sediment. The larger the material, the higher the
velocity needed to transport it.
 Therefore, when velocity decreases, the large
boulders are the first to be deposited. Whereas, finer
materials, such as clay particles are the last to be
deposited.
 Deposition occurs whenever a river loses energy and
velocity falls. This can be when:
 a river enters a shallow area (this could be when it floods
and comes into contact with the flood plain)
 at the base of a waterfall
 on the inside bend of a meander
 towards its mouth where it meets another body of water.

 Deposition leads to the formation of a range

of landforms in the lower course of the river.
Hills cleared for Agriculture
Uncontrolled Land Clearing
Siltation in rivers
EROSION AND SEDIMENTATION CONTROL PLAN (ESCP)
LEGISLATION ISSUES

Over-abundance of sectoral-based water laws

Laws govern use rather than protection of resources
Many laws outdated, redundant or ambiguous; conflicts / overlaps
common
Lack of comprehensive water law
Inadequate penalties
Malaysian Constitution
 Land and water state matters
 Rivers within jurisdiction of State
THANK YOU