Applied Environmental Research
Publication Date
2021-01-01
Abstract
The study aims to assess spatial and temporal water quality variations in the upper reaches of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. Thirty-one water monitoring samples of the two main rivers (Tien and Hau Rivers) and six canals flowing through An Giang Province were collected in thedry season (March) and the rainy season (September) from 2009 to 2019. Seven physicochemicalparameters were analyzed including temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygendemand (BOD), total suspended solids (TSS), orthophosphate (P-PO43-), and coliforms. Water quality index (WQI), cluster analysis (CA), and discriminant analysis (DA) were applied to evaluate water quality, spatial and temporal variations, and seasonal discriminant water variables.WQI values (15 - 71) indicated surface water quality was very bad to medium in which the water quality in larger and in smaller rivers in the dry season was less polluted than that in the rainy season due to erosion and runoff water containing waste materials in the wet season. CA groupedthe water quality in the dry and rainy seasons into four clusters mainly due to BOD and coliformsin the dry season; TSS and coliforms in the rainy season. Discriminant analysis revealed that DO, TSS, coliforms, temperature and BOD significantly contributed to seasonal variations in water quality. Therefore, water quality monitoring in the surveyed area could only focus on DO, TSS, coliforms, temperature and BOD to reduce monitoring cost.
First Page
14
Last Page
27
Recommended Citation
Nguyen, Giao Thanh and Huynh, Thi Hong Nhien
(2021)
"Evaluating Water Quality Variation in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta Area Using Cluster and Discriminant Analysis,"
Applied Environmental Research: Vol. 43:
No.
1, Article 2.
Available at:
https://digital.car.chula.ac.th/aer/vol43/iss1/2