Assessment of surface water quality using Malaysia Water Quality Index (MWQI) and National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index (NSFWQI) during road construction activities

The study of this project was basically on the assessment of surface water quality by using Malaysian Water Quality Index (MWQI) and National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index (NSFWQI) during road construction activities. The site area selected for this study was located at Kampung Rahmat, Batu Pahat, Johor where a new road to cross the Sri Gading Estate was constructed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of road construction activities on the quality of water bodies. In addition, the determination of water quality index based on six parameters used were biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), dissolved oxygen (DO), ammoniacal nitrogen, pH, and total suspended solids (TSS) at site construction of a new road for Kampung Rahmat is underway. The data used was secondary data collected from previous study to determine the water quality index based on Malaysian Water Quality Index (MWQI) and National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index (NSFWQI). High values of water quality index indicated that surface water in that road construction area was less polluted. The importance of this study was to determine the level of surface water quality due to road construction activities. It was very important to assess the quality of water in a place to maintain its cleanliness because water serves as a basic need for living organisms. Based on the calculation of water quality index values by using MWQI and NSFWQI, it showed that the highest value of water quality index recorded compared to other parameters was total suspended solids (TSS) which was 186 mg/L while the lowest value of water quality index recorded was 0.1 mg/L in December by ammoniacal nitrogen. Thus, the comparison of results made between MWQI and NSFWQI showed that MWQI was more effective and accurate to assess the water quality index compared to NSFWQI