The assessment of sedimentation and water quality status for river catchment management in Kenyir Lake Basin

Kenyir Lake Basin was built to generate hydroelectric power for Peninsular Malaysia. This water body is a promising natural preserved environment and has been attracting the developer to develop tourist spots to fulfill their profit margin. Such approach commonly has been polluting the environment since the past few decades. In the present study, the hydrological and water qual-ity assessment on rivers was carried out to identify the existing physical environment of Kenyir Lake Basin. Samples and in-situ data were collected at 19 stations during the dry and wet season. The obtained data was compared with National Water Quality Standard (NWQS) for Malaysian waters as well as interpreted and analysis using chemometrics technique. Based on the climatol-ogy and hydrological data, it has been observed that the sedimentation rate is increasing which may damage the Kenyir Dam turbines in the future. Besides that, the water quality of Kenyir Lake Basin is complied to Class IIB NWQS which is suitable for recreational use with body con-tact. Similarly, Kenyir Lake Basin is classified as Class III based on Malaysian Department of Environment (DOE) water quality index; which is suitable for body contact recreational activities but requires an extensive treatment. The chemometrics analysis has highlighted total dissolved solid, turbidity (TUR), biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand and salinity have affecting the water quality. Additionally, dissolved oxygen and pH showed higher potential risk toward the environmental process management and monitoring owing to the development sur-round Kenyir catchment area. The present findings advocate a higher management method to facil-itate the preservation and maintain the life of Kenyir Lake Basin.