DESCRIPTIVE AND CORRELATION ANALYSIS OF IRON AND MANGANESE IN THE RIVERBANK SYSTEM
Main article
Abstract
An increase in river water toxicity and frequent water cuts are major concerns in Malaysia. Riverbank Filtration system (RBF) is a good alternative technology to improve raw water quality. However, high concentration of metals such as Iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) in RBF is one of the main problems. This study analyses and compares the concentration of Fe and Mn in RBF and the Kerian River water using descriptive statistical analysis and Pearson Correlation analysis. The results show that the mean concentration of Fe and Mn is higher at the RBF pumping well with a mean value of 4.823 mg/l which is 96 % compared to the concentration of Fe in Kerian River (0.1708 mg/l). Meanwhile, Mn concentration in RBF pumping well is 0.1854 mg/l compared to the Kerian River water with Mn concentration of 0.00056 mg/l. The difference in the concentration is approximately 100%. Typically, the concentration of metals or minerals in groundwater is closely related to the type of soil in the area and hydro-geochemical activities in the location. In this study, the results prove that the concentration of Fe and Mn in RBF is higher than surface water which is highly connected to the soil layer in the study location. At the same time, the concentration of these elements in water exceeded the MOH standard for permissible drinking water standard which are Fe = 0.3 mg/l and Mn = 0.1 mg/l. From the Pearson Correlation analysis, it was found that Fe and Mn in both RBF and Kerian River have a strong correlation of (R > 9.0) indicating that the existence of Fe and Mn is highly influencing each other. Parameters such as EC, Turbidity, TSS and TDS moderately correlate with Fe and Mn and are within the ranges of (0.3 < R <0.7) demonstrating that there is a higher influence on the other ions, minerals, and organic matter. In this study, the concentration of Fe and Mn exceeded the standard allowed by the Ministry of Health for drinking water, therefore, an additional treatment for Fe and Mn removal should be applied if the water from RBF is going to be used as drinking water.
