A new report from EarthWatch Europe based on a citizen science blitz over the weekend of 7-10 June,has found that 75% of rivers across UK showed poor ecological health.

The Great UK WaterBlitz Report is based on data collected by over 2,600 people across the UK who went out and measured the water quality of their local rivers, enabling Earthwatch Europe to capture a snapshot of the health of rivers throughout the country.

The Independent Research Organisation (IRO) are leaders in citizen science: engaging the public in scientific research. Its FreshWater Watch programme enables communities to gather real-time water quality data.

According to the report, 75% of data points across the UK showed poor ecological health with significant regional variation. The Anglian and Thames regions were found to have the worst water quality with up to 89% of data points showing poor ecological health.

The Solway Tweed area in the North West showed the best health with only 50% of data points showing unacceptable levels of nutrient pollution.

Describing the UK’s freshwater ecosystems as in “a terrible state”, EarthWatch Europe says that “quite how dire the situation has become” has been unclear with incomplete or missing data.

“Rather than relying on the Environment Agency to disclose information on river health, concerned communities have taken matters into their own hands and created a detailed snapshot of our nation’s river health through the power of citizen science and the Great UK WaterBlitz”, the report says.

Over 7-10 June, 2,630 citizen scientists across the UK tested the health of rivers, lakes, streams, ponds and

canals, with a particular focus on nutrient pollution. The report says that 78% of measurements taken across

England’s waters indicate unacceptable levels of nutrient pollution - very much in line with the State of Our Rivers Report by the Rivers Trust, which determined that just 15% of English river stretches reach good

ecological health standards.

The volunteers collected data about their local freshwater bodies using the same quality-controlled measurement approach, to gather 1,380 datasets. Of the 1,380 sites they measured, 75% showed poor water quality.

According to the IR, there is ongoing debate about the cause of the poor ecological state of many rivers in the UK, due to the complex and interconnected range of pollution sources: sewage discharge,

agriculture and urban run-off.

“Our rivers have been historically and presently stressed by farming and presently are being pushed

to the brink by outdated and inadequate sewage treatment works”, the report says.

EarthWatch Europe is calling for a number of next steps, including:

more regular and rigorous environmental inspections of water treatment operations and stiffer penalties

for non-compliance

regulatory bodies properly funded and resourced

a radical shift to make pollution unprofitable to incentivise water companies to dramatically reduce their negative effect on freshwater systems

prioritise investments in ecologically sensitive areas like protected nature sites, chalk streams, and upper river reaches; areas critical for biodiversity and particularly susceptible to nutrient pollution

Greater use of Nature Based Solutions like sustainable drainage systems, rain gardens, treatment wetlands, natural buffers, and basin restoration initiatives; NbS can cost-effectively enhance freshwater ecosystems while generating multiple co-benefits

Click here to download the report

Click here to register your interest in taking part in Earthwatch Europe’s next Great UK WaterBlitz in September 2024