WATER SAMPLING REPORT KUALA GANDAH (DAM)

INTRODUCTION
Kuala Gandah, located around 200km from Kuala Lumpur is very significant with its
Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary that was a sanctuary to train captured wild elephant and send
them to the National Park. Beside the Elephant Sanctuary, there is also the Kuala Gandahs river
located there. Due to the river supplying water and food, many native people establish their
village nears the river. As the time goes by, the demand for water increase drastically due to the
increasing in the population so action needs to be taken so that there will be sufficient amount of
water distributed to all for domestic uses. One action that was done is by introducing Gravity
Feed System or GFS.

GFS is a water distribution system that use the gravity force to push the water so that the
water will reach the household in the area. It is a simple means of moving a liquid without the
use of a pump.Water supply systems to remote villages in developing countries are often gravity
fed. In this case the flow of water to the village is provided by the head, the vertical distance
from the intake at the source to the outflow in the village, on which gravity acts; while it is
opposed by the friction in the pipe which is determined primarily by the length and diameter of
the pipe as well as by its age and the material of which it is made.

The GFS in Kuala Gandah was built in 2 phases, the first phase was built in 1995. This
dam was meant to supply water to the number of native people around the locality but since the
Elephant Sactuary was built and the number of native people live in the locality increase, the
water that was supplied by the GFS was not efficient. So the second dam was built even higher
as the second phase to increase the amount of water demanded at the area. It takes around 30
minutes to an hour to reach the dam for GFS from the Elephant Sanctuary. And the GFS in Kuala
Gandah can supply water to a radius of 4 to 5 kilometers and to about 300 people living there.

For the water monitoring that was made at the GFS in Kuala Gandah, the indicators that
was measured was the pH, turbidity, chlorine concentration, iron concentration, presence of E.
Coli and coliform. This indicators was either measured by in-situ or in the laboratory.

OBJECTIVES
1) To study the component and layout of a GFSs dam
2) To identify the composition in the tested water whether it is contaminated or not
3) To practice the knowledge about the water distribution and safety that was learnt
4) To study the concept of gravity force and water distribution

MATERIALS
1) Sample water
2) Thio bag
3) Whirl Pak

APPARATUS AND REAGENTS

1) DR2800 Spectrophotometer
2) Turbidity meter
3) pH meter
4) Stainless steel pail
5) Sample cells (25ml)
6) Colilert reagent
7) Quanti tray
8) 6 Watt, 365 nm UV light
9) Ferro Ver iron reagent powder pillows.
10) DPD Free chlorine reagent powder pillows

RESULTS
Date

: 24/5/2014

Places : Dam
No

Parameter

Readings taken

Average
readings

1st

2nd

3rd

pH

7.93

7.75

7.64

7.77

Dissolved oxygen
(mg/l)

0.59

Temperature (oC)

24.71

Conductivity (mS/cm)

0.016

Salinity (Sal)

0.01

Flow rate

Pressure (atm)

0.9875

Turbidity (NTU)

1.9

1.9

1.9

1.9

Total coliform

36

43

36

38.3

10

E-coli (MPN)

54.6

37.8

52.8

48.4

TOTAL IRON
Readings taken

Blank (mg/L Fe)

Sample (mg/L Fe)

1st

0.00

0.31

2nd

0.00

0.33

3rd

0.00

0.34

Average readings

0.00

0.33

Readings taken

Blank (mg/L Cl)

Sample (mg/L Cl)

1st

0.00

0.03

2nd

0.00

0.04

3rd

0.00

0.04

Average readings

0.00

0.04

FREE CHLORINE

DISCUSSION

The average pH reading obtained from the water sample is 7.77, which is considered as
natural. The National Water Quality Standards set the reading of pH is between 6.5-8.5, so the
reading obtained is within the range and fulfill the requirement needed. The pH is the major
importance in determining the corrosivity of water. In general, the lower the pH, the higher the
level of corrosion. However, pH is only one of a variety of factors affecting corrosion. Exposure
to extreme pH values results in irritation to the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes. Eye irritation
and exacerbation of skin disorders have been associated with pH values greater than 11. In
addition, solutions of pH 1012.5 have been reported to cause hair fibres to swell. In sensitive
individuals, gastrointestinal irritation may also occur.
Exposure to low pH values can also result in similar effects. Below pH 4, redness and
irritation of the eyes have been reported, the severity of which increases with decreasing pH.
Below pH 2.5, damage to the epithelium is irreversible and extensive (10). In addition, because
pH can affect the degree of corrosion of metals as well as disinfection efficiency, it may have an
indirect effect on health.

Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness of water. It can come from fairly benign sources,
such as suspended sediment in the water, or from high levels of disease-causing organisms. The
turbidity reading from water sample analysis taken in Kuala Gandah is 1.9 NTU. If we compared
it with the standard by National Water Quality which is 5.0 NTU, water samples taken is in very
good condition as the standard set is significantly higher than the results that obtained. Higher
turbidity levels are often associated with higher levels of disease-causing microorganisms such
as viruses, parasites and some bacteria. These organisms can cause nausea, cramps, diarrhea and
associated headaches.
National Water Quality Standards has fixed the allowed total coliform in water which is
100.0. When coliforms have been detected, repairs or modifications of the water system may be
required thats why we should not exceed the limit as it can cost to repair it. The total coliform
include bacteria that are found in the soil, in water that has been influenced by surface water, and

in human or animal waste The average result total coliform from analysis is 38.3, so the water is
safe to consume as drinking water.