Oct 23, 2024
Thousands of volunteers have helped to provide a snapshot of the health of the nation’s rivers and waterways, highlighting high levels of nitrates and phosphates, as well as a cocktail of chemical compounds that pose a risk to ecosystems.
The WaterBlitz project, led by charity Earthwatch, is an annual water quality survey that recruits members of the public and community groups twice a year to take thousands of water samples from freshwater bodies in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
“Community science projects are increasingly important in monitoring chemical pollution in our environment. It’s thanks the help of hundreds of people across the UK who put their local knowledge to good use to collect samples and to enable such detailed snapshots of the health of our nation’s rivers.
“Our analysis has already identified several chemicals at levels which exceed accepted safe limits for aquatic life. We found pharmaceuticals, pesticides and even common substances like caffeine and nicotine at detectable levels in water up and down the country.
“What this work highlights is that despite treatment facilities being in place, these chemicals continuously find their way into our waterways. Rivers are the still the lifeline of the I-JK, and that none pass good overall health status represents a national failure. More needs to be done to urgently clean up our water.”
Source: Imperial