A thesis submit in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, School of Environment, Resources and Development

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1991

The magnitude and rate of nonpoint pollution in the Klang River Basin was assessed using the 1990 remote sensing data and integrated with the geographic information system to determine their impact on the water quality. The landuse change detection revealed a significant change over landuse occur for the past 5 years when comparing with the 1985 landuse map. Modelling of nonpoint pollution for the study area was conducted using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) for the pervious area while for the impervious area the estimation was based on the curb density. Several sets of data such as remote sensing, landuse, rainfall, soil, specific curb length, water quality and elevation were utilised. Thematic maps were digitised and analysis was carried out using appropriate GIS software both at Malaysian Center for Remote Sensing and at the INRDM, AIT. The results indicated that soil erosion rates are critical in a number of catchments and these are likely to influence the present water quality status of the Klang River basin. The study demon strates the potential use of r emote sensing technique a nd the GIS technology for creating computerised geo-referenced resource databases that is useful for planning and management purposes. This study also highlight the role of the central planning agency in coordinating and to establish the National Codification System to aid access to data which is often difficult to be retrieved.