Researchers seek to expand ‘citizen scientist’ testing of UK river quality

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Citizen science testing of river water quality will expand this year in an attempt to make the data part of official monitoring of waterways, the head of an independent environmental research group has said.

The use of ordinary people across the country to test river water quality for pollutants including phosphates, nitrates and other chemicals has captured the imagination of thousands of volunteers. In 2024 more than 7,000 people took part in river testing “blitzes” run over two weekends by the NGO Earthwatch Europe. The research, using standardised testing equipment provided by the NGO and Imperial College London, gathered data from almost 4,000 freshwater sites across the UK.

It provided an insight into the cocktail of pollutants from water companies and agricultural runoff, which are contributing to the crisis in river ecosystems.

Sasha Woods, the director of science and policy at Earthwatch, said it was critical to turn the noise around river pollution into meaningful action.

“We are at a tipping point in terms of freshwater quality, where we all know how bad the situation is, and now there is a real sense that this is the year things are going to be moving in the right direction,” said Woods.

“I would like to see more citizen science data and for that data to begin featuring in official monitoring reports. We have collated a lot of information and will continue to use citizen science to collect data sets that demonstrate where the problems are and what solutions are needed.”

Woods said citizen science was robust and increasingly accepted as a way to provide data on many thousands more sites than official regulators such as the Environment Agency (EA) were able to provide. By the end of March 2025 the EA has promised to put more people on the ground and provide 4,000 fresh water data points. “We were able to do in two weekends what the EA is trying to do by the end of March this year,” said Woods.

“That has demonstrated the power of citizen science and I think the Environment Agency is recognising the usability of citizen science. What we do is never going to replace what the EA is doing in terms of monitoring, but I think it supports and enhances what they are doing.”

The second river testing blitz last October partnered with Imperial College London to expand the testing to include many other chemical pollutants such as antibiotics and painkillers, agricultural chemicals and pesticides. Analysis by Imperial identified several chemicals at levels which exceed accepted safe limits for aquatic life.

Results from three days of testing by 4,531 volunteers revealed 61% of fresh waters in the UK were in a poor state because of high levels of the nutrients phosphate and nitrate, the main source of which is sewage effluent and agricultural runoff. England had the worst level of poor water quality in rivers, with 67% of freshwater samples showing high levels of nitrate and phosphate.

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In lower-income countries where water testing capacity is lower than in developed nations, citizen science is being used increasingly as part of official monitoring. In Sierra Leone and Zambia, data gathered from citizen science is being used along with national regulatory monitoring to feed into UN sustainable development targets.

Woods said as well as providing robust data, citizen science was powerful because it educated and empowered individuals about the river and freshwater environment. The data gathered by the river blitzes is analysed and compiled into a public report to create a snapshot of freshwater across the UK. It allows the public and NGOs to challenge water companies and the agricultural sector, to provide the Environment Agency with information on rivers it does not monitor and to inform the Office for Environmental Protection of any activities that are suspicious or illegal.

The first of two UK water blitz testing weekends this year will take place on the weekend of 26 April. Woods said the aim was to make this the biggest data collection yet. “Each time we run a blitz we double the number of participants, so we are aiming for 10,000 people to take part and to increase the sites tested to at least 5,000.”

Source: theguardian.com

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