The River Thames is in a ‘particularly dire’ state according to experts, following an extensive study of the UK’s rivers and streams. Conducted by citizen scientists, the research found that three-quarters of UK rivers are in poor ecological health.
The data was collected over a period from June 7 to 10, with thousands of people measuring their local water quality for the Great UK WaterBlitz campaign, organised by environmental charity Earthwatch Europe.
The observations were made for nitrate and phosphate levels. These nutrients are commonly present in domestic and industrial waste, sewage, and farm fertilisers. Excessive levels of such nutrients cause heightened plant and algal growth, amplified bacteria rates, and decreased oxygen levels, impacting both fauna and flora in and around the water.
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Per the data collated by Earthwatch, an alarming 75% of tests depicted the poor ecological health of the tested rivers nationwide. This percentage rose up to 89% for Thames and Anglia regions.
Among all, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire had the worst findings, with nutrient contamination reaching unacceptable levels in 91% and 89% instances respectively. On the other hand, Derbyshire and Northumberland showed the least amount of nutrient pollution, recording 0% of intolerable data sets effectively.
Commenting on the results, Sasha Woods, the director of science and policy at the charity, expressed her concern: “These results are truly disturbing there are no parts of the UK unaffected by nutrient pollution. The picture around London and the Thames river basin is particularly dire.”
She continued: “Our rivers have been historically stressed by farming, and we’re seeing this being made worse by inappropriate or limited sewage treatment. The Government has committed to protect 30% of land for nature by 2030 that will be meaningless if the rivers and streams running through the land, the arteries of life, are diseased.”
The charity highlighted that their testing programme reflects some findings from a recent report by the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), which stated “most of England’s water bodies are in an unsatisfactory state”. Dr Woods explained that the citizen scientist project, believed to be the largest ever in the UK, has “enabled people to better understand the health of their local rivers and catalysed grassroots action”.
She continued: “We want to see more citizen science testing and better use of this data by bodies such as the Environment Agency to help build a more positive future for our rivers. The next government must commit to a national strategy for freshwater that includes all forms of pollution and is backed by a properly-resourced organisation that makes use of rich citizen science data.”
The most recent official Water Framework Directive monitoring reveals that 17% of water bodies are in a poor state, 63% are average (moderate), and 16% are in good condition. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs could not provide a comment due to pre-General Election period restrictions.
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