Assessment of Pollution Status in Brunei River Using Water Quality Indices, Brunei Darussalam

Abstract

The Water Quality Index (WQI) is a tool designed to provide a singular figure representing the overall water quality status of a water body. This study applies Malaysia WQI, National Sanitation Foundation WQI (NSFWQI) and statistical analysis to investigate the impact of diverse pollution sources on the Brunei River’s water quality, a critical aquatic ecosystem affected by the rapid escalation of urbanization, industrial activities, and agricultural runoff. Principal component analysis (PCA), expert judgement, and correlation analysis were used to propose parameters for developing Brunei River’s WQI. Eight monitoring stations were selected to analyze 16 water quality parameters (pH, water temperature (T), dissolved oxygen (DO), oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), chemical oxygen demand (COD), the five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), salinity, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), ammoniacal-nitrogen (NH3-N), fecal coliform (FC), total coliform (TC), phosphate and nitrate (NO3−) in this study. The results showed that NSFWQI classified the Brunei River as moderately polluted, while Malaysia (WQI) status was classified as slightly polluted except for Station Q around the quarry area. Statistical analysis revealed that the primary pollution sources are anthropogenic activities such as quarrying, domestic waste, and agricultural and urban runoff. Other specific areas of concern with low WQI and significant pollution levels are situated at Kampong Ayer Stations (N and J) due to proximal anthropogenic activities. The proposed water quality parameters for developing Brunei River’s WQI are pH, DO, EC, FC, NO3−, BOD5, T, TSS, turbidity and phosphate. This study addresses the current pollution status of the Brunei River and sets a precedent for future research emphasizing collaborative data-driven strategies for water quality management.