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Assessment of water quality parameters using multivariate analysis for Klang River basin, Malaysia

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Abstract

This case study uses several univariate and multivariate statistical techniques to evaluate and interpret a water quality data set obtained from the Klang River basin located within the state of Selangor and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The river drains an area of 1,288 km2, from the steep mountain rainforests of the main Central Range along Peninsular Malaysia to the river mouth in Port Klang, into the Straits of Malacca. Water quality was monitored at 20 stations, nine of which are situated along the main river and 11 along six tributaries. Data was collected from 1997 to 2007 for seven parameters used to evaluate the status of the water quality, namely dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, ammoniacal nitrogen, pH, and temperature. The data were first investigated using descriptive statistical tools, followed by two practical multivariate analyses that reduced the data dimensions for better interpretation. The analyses employed were factor analysis and principal component analysis, which explain 60 and 81.6 % of the total variation in the data, respectively. We found that the resulting latent variables from the factor analysis are interpretable and beneficial for describing the water quality in the Klang River. This study presents the usefulness of several statistical methods in evaluating and interpreting water quality data for the purpose of monitoring the effectiveness of water resource management. The results should provide more straightforward data interpretation as well as valuable insight for managers to conceive optimum action plans for controlling pollution in river water.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to express our thanks to the Department of Irrigation and Drainage and the Department of Environment, Malaysia for their cooperation when we conducted this study. This research is financially supported by the Research Grant (No: RG244-12AFR, RP009C-13AFR, FL001-13SUS) from the University of Malaya. We are most grateful and would like to thank the reviewers for their valuable suggestions, which led to a substantial improvement of the article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Ibrahim Mohamed, Adriana I. N. Ibrahim & Rossita M. Yunus

  2. Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Faridah Othman & M. E. Alaa-Eldin

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  1. Ibrahim Mohamed
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  2. Faridah Othman
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  3. Adriana I. N. Ibrahim
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  4. M. E. Alaa-Eldin
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  5. Rossita M. Yunus
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Correspondence to Faridah Othman.

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Mohamed, I., Othman, F., Ibrahim, A.I.N. et al. Assessment of water quality parameters using multivariate analysis for Klang River basin, Malaysia. Environ Monit Assess 187, 4182 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-4182-y

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