Accessing the Impact of Floating Houses on Water Quality in Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia

May Phue Wai, Vibol Chem, Khy Eam Eang, Rattana Chhin, Sokly Siev and Rina Heu
Additional contact information
May Phue Wai: Graduate School of Water and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Technology of Cambodia, Russian Federation Blvd., Phnom Penh 12156, Cambodia
Vibol Chem: Graduate School of Water and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Technology of Cambodia, Russian Federation Blvd., Phnom Penh 12156, Cambodia
Khy Eam Eang: Faculty of Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering, Institute of Technology of Cambodia, Russian Federation Blvd., P.O. Box 86, Phnom Penh 12156, Cambodia
Rattana Chhin: Faculty of Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering, Institute of Technology of Cambodia, Russian Federation Blvd., P.O. Box 86, Phnom Penh 12156, Cambodia
Sokly Siev: General Department of Science, Technology & Innovation, Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation, 45 Preah Norodom Boulevard, Sangkat Phsar They III, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh 120203, Cambodia
Rina Heu: Faculty of Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering, Institute of Technology of Cambodia, Russian Federation Blvd., P.O. Box 86, Phnom Penh 12156, Cambodia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-16

Abstract: The floating houses in Tonle Sap Lake might be one of the main factors for degradation of water quality since the people in floating houses discharge sewage and waste from their households into the lake. Therefore, the government of Cambodia has decided to move the floating houses in Chhnok Tru to the upland regions, and more than 90% of the floating houses in Chhnok Tru have already been moved in accordance with the government’s plan. However, the scientific information on water quality before and after moving the floating houses in Tonle Sap Lake is limited. Thus, this paper aimed to evaluate differences in basic water quality such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), oxidation–reduction potential (ORP), conductivity (Cond), and nitrate (NO 3 − ) before and after the floating houses were moved and to reveal the relationships between the floating houses and basic water quality. The water quality parameters were measured at 18 sampling sites in Chhnok Tru using an EXO sensor and NO 3 − was analyzed by ion chromatography (IC). Statistical analyses such as t -tests, correlation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used. The results show that the water quality was better after moving the floating houses; however, some parts of the study area were still polluted. In addition, the percentage of floating house distribution was significantly correlated with the temperature and ORP in the study area during dry and wet seasons. The obtained results are useful for making management decisions to sustainably manage the water quality in the area.

Keywords: ecosystem; floating houses; Tonle Sap Lake; water quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/5/2747/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/5/2747/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:5:p:2747-:d:759219

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().