We recently went to Cameron Highlands to conduct a water quality study of Sg. Rengil (main-stem) and Sg. Berok located near Lojing. The current water quality conditions were pristine with no apparent degradation occurring on the upstream reaches of both rivers. This was reflective of minimal anthropogenic activities taking place there-in, save perhaps an Orang Asli village located near the confluence point of both rivers. From visual observation alone one can hypothesize, that most water quality constituents should fall within the Class I designation of the INWQS. The Orang Asli here utilize the water source from both rivers for their daily necessities.
This condition however changed moving downstream, where agricultural activities become more predominant, resulting in heightened TSS and Turbidity levels. Sg. Belatop (shown below) is a good example, where even without precipitation and runoff effects, turbid water conditions were still apparent, due to land irrigation practices which transports SS into the water column. Interviews with the local village people indicated that Sg. Belatop at one time, used to be teaming with aquatic life; this condition however has since changed as can be seen from the photo and video below.
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