RESERVOIR SEDIMENTATION MANAGEMENT: A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE IN THE KENYIR LAKE BASIN, MALAYSIA

Reservoir sedimentation poses a significant challenge to the sustainable development of water resources, with profound implications for ecosystem health and water management. These lead to cause changes and challenges for rivers, such as floods, river erosion, sedimentation processes, and anthropogenic interference, which contribute to problems for humans and specifically for river basin ecosystems. This research examined the issue of sedimentation, a critical water body for the region's hydrology and socio-economic activities and proposed a multi-faceted management strategy that integrates sediment control measures, regular monitoring, and community involvement to enhance the sustainability of reservoir operations and safeguards the ecological integrity of the Kenyir Lake Basin. Through a combination of field surveys and sedimentation problem analysis, we assessed the current state of sediment accumulation and its impact on reservoir capacity, water quality, and downstream ecosystems. There are several aspects of processes such as erosion, sedimentation and the overflow of the river that have been found. The sedimentation problem in the Kenyir Lake Basin is caused not only by the flow rate of water but the land use activities also contribute to the increasing sediment levela. The implementation of recommendations should be carried out more specifically for reservoir sedimentation problems to avoid and minimise various other problems.