Water quality index (WQI) as a means of water quality
assessment through the determination of physico-chemical
parameters of surface water; it can act as an indicator of water
pollution because of natural inputs and anthropogenic
activities6,13. WQI is one of the most effective tools to provide
feedback on the quality of water to the policy makers and
environmentalists13. It provides a single number expressing
overall water quality status of a certain time and location14. It is
actually the categorization counting the combined influence of
different important water quality parameters; as it is calculated
based on the concentration of several important attributes6,14. It
acts as a simple indicator of water quality. In the present study,
we used DOE-WQI where, it serves as the basis for assessment
of water quality in relation to pollution load characterization and
classification of water under the Inland National Water Quality
Standards for Malaysia (INWQS). The objective of the study is
to assess the WQI as an indicator to evaluate the water
pollution status for public use, irrigation and other purposes;
based on the analysis of physico-chemical parameters of the
surface water of eastern part of peninsular Malaysia; especially