The Salcon Smart Water Programme (SSWP), took place in partnership between Salcon Engineering Berhad and Water Watch Penang in Taman Persekutuan Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, with a participation of a total of 40 students (Form 1 until Form 5), and 4 teachers from Kuala Lumpur Sports School from 9.00am to 12.00pm.
Also present were the representatives from Salcon Berhad, Ms. Nor Anita Alias (Corporate Affairs Executive) and Ms. Fadwa Faieqah under Protégé Programme Malaysia.
The aim of this river-related activity is to provide students with knowledge about rivers and water at different geographical scales, spanning global, regional, and local contexts, with a particular focus on Kuala Lumpur. Dr. Hong Chern Wern, executive manager of the WWP, served as the program’s lead facilitator with assistance from trained facilitator, Ms. Kimberly Wong, Ms. Emily Wong, Ms. Elsheena Edwin, and Mr. Sharvind Sivan and interns, Ms. Khairul Barieyah, and Ms. Divya Sree.
Dr. Hong started the program by explaining to the students the country’s water crisis and the significance of water conservation. Next the students were split into four groups for the hands-on session. With the guidance of the facilitators, they were instructed on how to conduct physical, chemical, and biological tests on the river water to assess its quality. For the chemical test, the students checked various factors like pH, dissolved oxygen, ammonia levels, phosphate levels, nitrate levels, and nitrite levels.
Additionally, the students were asked to use a “catch and release” method to count the different types of macroinvertebrates they found to determine the Biological Water Quality Index of the river water. The students also managed to capture and identify various macroinvertebrates, such as dragonfly nymphs, freshwater shrimp, pagoda snails, and damselfly nymphs. The main highlight of the day was the presence of crayfish in the river. The participants have captured a total of three crayfishes which is rare, considering that this was only the third time in 14 years, we have captured a crayfish during our river education programme. Crayfish are sensitive to polluted environments, thus crayfish in a river provides a good indicator for a clean river.
For more information, please contact Executive Manager, Dr. Hong Chern Wern, at hong.wwp[at]gmail[dot]com