72 / 2016-04-30 22:37:21

ASSESSING THE FEASIBILITY OF PHYTOREMEDIATION FOR ALUR ILMU STORMWATER, UKM BANGI, MALAYSIA

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Alur Ilmu is a 1.73 km stormwater channel, located within the National University of Malaysia UKM Bangi Campus, Malaysia. It is vulnerable to water pollutions from natural phenomenon and human activities in the vicinity. On–site treatment is needed to improve the stormwater quality to an acceptable level to maintain a healthy ecosystem. The present paper aims to assess the feasibility of phytoremediation as an on-site treatment for Alur Ilmu stormwater management. Thirteen stations along the stormwater channel were selected to determine the spatial distribution of Water Quality Index (WQI) during dry and wet seasons. Thematic maps, using Kriging models, to determine the spatial distribution of dissolve oxygen (DO), pH, ammoniacal nitrogen (NH4N), total suspended solid (TSS), biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). Four selected floating plants, namely Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes. l), Rose Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) and Centellla (Centella asiatica) were used for the feasibility assessment. All four species of floating plants were found to be efficient and feasible to be applied for the phytoremediation of Alur Ilmu stormwater.