SEVERAL residents associations and Rukun Tetangga sectors in Petaling Jaya have been roped in to help in monitoring water quality at lakes in Taman Aman, Section 19 and Bukit Kiara.

Test kits for the purpose were presented to them on Saturday following a talk on river rehabilitation by Global Environment Centre (GEC) senior programme officer Dr K. Kalithasan.

“The community should be involved in caring for water as whatever is done around a catchment area affects water quality,” said Kalithasan during the talk at the Poh Toh Association.

“Streams, rivers, wetlands and especially lakes are important for growth and reproduction.

“Lakes help to protect water quality but if affected by irresponsible human action, it can damage the natural ageing process that is based on increased growth and productivity.

“So it is important to be able to tell if a lake is healthy or not. It is quite simple to estimate the overall condition of a lake,” he added.

There are three ways to check lake condition – visual observation, chemical and biological monitoring.

Visual observations give clues on the health of a lake. Clear water, smell and odour and presence of certain wildlife also indicate a good health.

However, chemical monitoring provide the most accurate and reliable indications as it is used to analyse drinking water and determine sources of pollution and specific pollutants.

Biological monitoring provides insights into the functional quality of the environment studied. It reveals important changes in the composition of biological communities caused by human activities.

“For instance, certain insects that live in a lake are indicators of water quality because all organisms require specific conditions to live,” said Kalithasan.

Kalithasan said lake water quality monitoring could be used to determine the level by which it had been affected by development.

He said parameters that were frequently tested in lake water were temperature, dissolved oxygen, nutrients, total suspected solids and fecal coliform bacteria among others.

The test kits were presented to the residents respresentatives by Kampung Tunku assemblyman Datuk Dr Wong Sai Hou.

In his speech, Dr Wong said: “The environment is ours to protect. Use what we have learned today to protect our water sources and also bring your children and family for picnics at lake sides so they, too, will learn about nature and its importance.”

The effort was part of ‘One State One River’ Sungai Pencala rehabilitation programme headed by GEC and Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (MPPJ), funded by Danida.