The water quality and metal concentrations of Cempaka Lake, Selangor, Malaysia

A study of water quality parameters in Cempaka Lake was conducted in January, April, July, and October 2010. The water quality parameters such as temperature, conductivity, total dissolved solid, dissolved oxygen, pH, and water hardness were determined. Six metals i.e. cadmium, chromium, lead, nickel, zinc, and copper were also determined. The water samples were collected randomly from different sampling points around the lake. The water quality parameters were compared with National Water Quality Standard (NWQS Malaysia) whereas metal concentrations were compared with international standards. Study showed that the water temperature and conductivity values increased during the months of the study with the averages of 27.6 degrees C and 1709 mu S/cm respectively. The dissolved oxygen and pH values were within the normal ranges with the averages of 1.00 mg/l and 7.37 respectively while the total dissolved solid values increased during the study period with the average of 896 mg/l. Furthermore, hardness values indicated that the water of the lake classified as soft water with the average of 34.3CaCo(3) mg/l. For water quality parameters, study showed that all parameters were in natural concentration range (class I) according to National Water Quality Standard (NWQS Malaysia) except for conductivity, total dissolved solid and dissolved oxygen values. Results showed that the mean metal concentrations (in micrograms per liter) in Cempaka Lake water based on monthly sampling (in descending order) for Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr, Pb, and Cd were 11.08, 3.41, 2.80, 2.43, 0.49 and 0.24 mu g/L respectively. Results showed that metals concentrations were lower than maximum concentrations allowed by Malaysian and international standards in protecting aquatic life.