Since 2005 local community organization Regional Environmental Awareness Cameron Highlands has initiated a new community based approach of water management in the Cameron Highlands. By aid ofaquatic marco invertebrates and basic chemical testing water qualityin the areas major rivers is monitored regularly. Water insects indicating water quality TEXT BY REACH MAY 2009 PLEASE SUPPORT REACH Macro invertebrates Aquatic macro-invertebra tes are tiny creepy crawlies living in the rivers. It is a co mmunity of insect (larvae), beetles, worms, snails and other small creatures. Not every aquatic macro-invertebrate can live in every type of water quality: some species need really clean water (water with the quality of drinking water) others can live perfectly well in polluted wate r with lots of sewag e. These little creatures are super-sensitive for changes in their environmen t. This means that they are very accurate in telling you how clean the water is. But how exactly can you tell from these macro- inver tebrates if the water is clean then? Well first you need to catch them with a net on the bottom or the sides of a river or stream: tha t is where they live. Then you have to identify which species and in which amount they occur in your collected sample. By filling in the species that you found and their abundance (numbers) in a special table you can classify the stream or river for its water quality . This metho d is used as a stand ard tool by many countries around the globe to asses water quality. Water pollution Whe re does this wate r pollu tion come from in the first place? The main reason for water pollution in the Cameron Highlands are the big agriculture (farms) that Pres ident of REACH: Mr. Ramakrishnan Ramasamy AMN Email: president@ reach.org.my Contact us at: REACH Office No. 1 Jalan Besar Brinchang, Caneron Highlands
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(washed off clay and sand), solidwaste and pesticides.
Virgin mountain streams in theforest have outstanding water
quality and are very important for
the ecosystem. These streams alsoform a vital and reliable supply of
good quality drinking water for thepeople living in the Cameron
Highlands. Unfortunately the
intensive agriculture also needslarge amounts of water forirrigation. That is why illegal
water taping now only leafs 20%of all water in the forests for public
drinking water production. Mostof this water that is used in
agriculture is (illegally) tappedfrom small mountain streams in
the forest containing the best
quality water of the Highlands.
Water quality monitoring Water quality monitoring is
important for a better under-standing of the reasons for
water pollution, also well as tofollow changes in water quality
of the rivers (is it going betteror worse?) and to create
awareness among people.
Macro invertebrate assess-ments are perfect for water
quality monitoring becausethere are very precise, and because
it is an inexpensive method thatdoes not need complicated
equipment. By taking samples on aregular basis (once a month) of
different rivers, and identifying the
species and then filling in themonitoring forms, groups of
students or volunteers can monitorthe quality of the rivers them-
selves.
Invertebrate assessmentsThe aquatic macro invertebrateassessment involves collecting,processing, and analyzing aquatic organisms to determinethe health of the biologicalcommunity in a stream. This inturn tells you about the healthof the river in general and theamount of pollution that affects
it. Aquatic Macro invertebratesinhabit all types of running waters. They live part or mostof their life-cycle attached tosubmerged rocks and vege-tation or hiding in the sand org r a v e l . A q u a t i c m a c r oinvertebrates are good indi-cators of stream qualitybecause:
1) They are affected by thephysical, chemical, and biolo-gical conditions of the stream;
2) They can't escape pollutionand show the effects of short-and long term pollution events;Some are very intolerant of pollution;
3) They are relatively easy tosample and identify.
By looking at which insects are living in the water, you can tell exactly how clean
The pollution tolerances of the various aquatic macro inver-tebrates are based upon theaquatic macro invertebrates'tolerance to pollution.Organisms are separated into 3categories of pollution toler-ance: Sensitive or intolerant,Some-what sensi t ive andTolerant to pollution.
In a river/stream with goodwater quality aquatic macroinvertebrates of both sensitiveto pollution and invertebratestolerant to pollution are found. No particular group or types of organisms will dominate theaquatic macro invertebratepopulation of the stream. Thestream has a high diversity; a‘little bit of everything’ is found.The main organisms found hereare Stonefly larvae, Mayflylarvae and Caddisfly larvae.
With increased organic pol-lution (from nutrients found infertilizers, sewage, and othersources) dissolved oxygen levelswithin the stream fluctuatemore extremely and fewer
pollution sensitive organismswill be found. Aquatic macroinvertebrates that can toleratelower oxygen levels will becomemore prevalent. As organicpollution continues to increase,some pollution tolerant aquaticmacro invertebrates will becomedominant and will be able tosupport large populations withinthe stream, while pollution
sensitive or some-what organ-isms will be unable to survive.
In this polluted stream a fewspecies ‘’can take over’’ andthrive by the thousands. Mainorganisms found here at leeches,snails and blood worms.
REACHRegional Environmental Awar-eness Cameron Highlands wasformed by several residents of
the Cameron Highlands whowere concerned about environ-menta l prob lems in theCameron Highlands. It wasofficially registered on 6thSeptember 2001. REACH andaims "to conserve CameronHighlands as an area of naturalresources and as a naturalheritage, a highland resort
surrounded by permanent forestreserve and sustainable agri-culture with quality drinking water".REACH tries to increase theawareness of the importance of good river water quality. Thecommunity based approach toriver quality monitoring is oneof the ways of doing so. AlsoREACH organizes exhibitions,
give talks (for instance on World Water Day) and they do theirown research.