**2. Methodology**

Various definitions of criteria and standards have been reviewed by Ward [10]. In this paper, the term 'water quality criteria' is defined as the level of constituents or state of the physical, chemical, radiological, biological and aesthetic properties of water that determine its suitability for specific uses. The term standard follows the definition by Streeter [11] which is 'an operational goal or objective', such as to enable concerted efforts towards sustainable management of lakes, rather than an established regulatory criterion with legal ramification. The methodology adopted in establishing water quality standards usually involves: (i) identifying the designated or beneficial water uses and (ii) selecting the water quality parameters and determining the necessary limiting criteria to protect the most vulnerable of the beneficial uses.

were nutrient rich [1] with a few of them especially the urban lakes experiencing algal blooms, which affect human uses of the water, such as recreation and aesthetic values, while other lakes faced macrophyte infestation problems [2]. To address these widespread challenges, develop‐ ing specific standards for lakes is necessary before introducing a monitoring programme and identifying management measures for improving lake water quality. At present, there are only two national standards of water quality in Malaysia, namely the National Water Quality Standards (NWQS) and the National Drinking Water Quality Standards (NDWQS), which were developed for the purpose of river and drinking water protection. Currently, lake monitoring efforts have focused on using the NWQS due to the unavailability of specific water quality criteria for lakes. In an earlier work, it has been shown that the majority of the lakes studied were categorized as suitable for recreational purposes, although, they did experience

Numerous ambient water quality criteria and standards have been introduced and published in various countries throughout the world [3] and compiled based on different uses [4]. Many of these criteria were developed for different protection objectives, mostly for drinking and/or recreation, and derived using different methodologies. Some countries propose unified regulatory standards that classify all water bodies based on beneficial uses [5]. Other countries use general standards which are applied to the water bodies for multiple purposes, with different numerical limits set for different types of water bodies, such as rivers, canals, lakes and coastal waters [6]. In some countries, such as Japan, a specific law to preserve lake water quality, better known as the Clean Lake Law, has been established to protect and improve water quality in the water bodies. Individualized measures have had to be developed in Japan due to differing water quality conditions, sources and causes of pollution amongst lakes [7]. In many states in the United States, site‐specific criteria incorporating lake basin features and maximum load have been proposed, such as in the cases of Lake Erie and Lake Tahoe [8, 9]. As national standards for river and marine waters are available, specific criteria and standards for lakes are also needed so that Malaysia can ensure the sustainable management and

This work describes the efforts in developing a National Lake Water Quality Criteria and Standards (NLWQCS) for Malaysia. The paper will be presented in three ways: (i) a review of the lake water quality criteria and standards in existing literature; (ii) classification and criteria, based on multi‐stakeholder consultations and published data and (iii) discussion of the role of this standard for lake management. The main objective in developing these criteria is to provide a standardized reference for the monitoring and management of lakes, based on a consensus of local experts and stakeholders, namely the lake managers and lake owners such

Various definitions of criteria and standards have been reviewed by Ward [10]. In this paper, the term 'water quality criteria' is defined as the level of constituents or state of the physical,

protection of this lentic water due to its inherent characteristics.

the state authority, state water authority and government agencies.

eutrophication [2].

294 Water Quality

**2. Methodology**

Reviews of available standards in existing literature were carried out, covering various water quality standards both in Malaysia and worldwide. The local literature evaluated includes the NWQS [12], Putrajaya Lake Water Quality Standards (PLWQS) [13] and the NDWQS [14], as well as the draft document of guidelines for recreational water [15]. Reference was also made to a compendium on water quality regulatory frameworks and selected international stand‐ ards and guidelines in different continents such as the United States, European Union, Japan, Brazil and Australia as listed in **Table 1**. The reviews were conducted in order to determine the designated water use, and water quality parameters and values. In terms of threshold limits, emphasis for selecting the threshold limit was given to local criteria and lake data from literature. This is followed with criteria or threshold limits from other countries or states with similar tropical conditions such as Brazil, the Philippines, Florida State in the United States and northern Australia. Threshold values of some of the criteria involving human health are based on well‐adopted criteria in the developed countries.

Additionally, three stakeholder consultations were organized in 2015 to obtain consensus from stakeholders and expert judgements on the criteria. In the first stakeholder consultation, identified stakeholders were presented with a preliminary idea of the classification and criteria followed by sharing of experience with other international lake standards namely the Japanese lake criteria. Stakeholders were identified randomly comprising selected water quality experts, government agencies and water supply companies. In addition to minutes of discussion, questionnaires were also distributed to stakeholders to identify the need and parameters most important for such standard and to record their input. Second stakeholder consultation was held during the national lake research committee forum to refine the classification of the proposed NLWQCS and the parameter threshold limits.

The national lake research committee consists of experts in various disciplines concerning lakes, and key representatives from federal government agencies and ministries in charge of lake management. In this forum, the role of the standards was also discussed and deliberated. The third stakeholder consultative session involved reviewing the proposed standard by various stakeholders in 45 federal and state jurisdictions, namely the lake owners, with regard to the development of the criteria. A separate engagement with selected experts was carried out to review the improvements made to the criteria resulting from the stakeholder consulta‐ tions. The final NLWQCS was presented and disseminated in a seminar involving stakehold‐ ers. **Figure 1** shows the development process of the NLWQCS.


**Table 1.** List of selected water quality standards reviewed and compared.

Formulating Specific Water Quality Criteria for Lakes: A Malaysian Perspective http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/65083 297

**Figure 1.** The development process of the NLWQCS.
