The river water quality before and during the Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia

Data in 2016 and 2017 has shown that most of Malaysia’s river water quality was in Water Quality Index Class II and Class III. The implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) has restricted business activities, human movements as well as anthropogenic activities. The sudden decline in human activities has directly impacted the river water quality. Several observations conducted by reporters of local newspapers, reports released by the Department of Environment (DoE) and Ministry of Environment and Water have shown positive changes in water river quality.