Power to the people: citizen scientists lead way to better water quality

The Norfolk Rivers Trust is raising and empowering a citizens’ army in the vitally important battle to improve water quality across the county.

With funding cuts to the Environment Agency and other bodies concerned with water quality there is a big gap in the amount of work that needs to be done and the amount of work that is realistically being carried out.

Listen to the episode here.

Rivers full of pollutants and devoid of life, drastically falling water tables in some areas, flood threats in other areas, there is little joy to be found when we think of the state of our waterways.

When we think of rivers and streams, we tend to focus in on the actual entity itself - the waterway that carries a life-giving substance from source to sea. As both Elle and Steve are quick to point out, the area of focus is so much wider than that. ‘Nothing would happen without the rivers,’ says Elle. ‘It is the source of all life and currently it has a lot of problems. If you can fix the source, then you move outwards from that place.’

‘We have to think about the whole catchment area,’ adds Steve. ‘That includes the rainfall, the way the water travels across the land, you can’t see the river in isolation.’

And that is where the citizen scientists who have volunteered to work with the NRT are playing a huge role.

Elle Claiborn (CaSTCo Citizen Science Officer for NRT and Steve Lane, who is Delivery Officer for CaSTCo in East England on behalf of the nationwide body, The Rivers Trust, head up the team of citizen scientists who are collecting a serious amount of data to give a deep level of insight into the state of our rivers.

This particular project is taking place on the River Wensum but there are similar projects taking place across the country.

The citizen scientists are given training in the way to use the equipment and collect data, how to record their findings and, importantly, get to see results of their data throughout the process.

As Elle explains, the volunteers become very involved in the process, so sharing results and helping in their understanding of the implications is something that becomes very important in the whole process.

Through the interview, both Steve and Elle emphasise how improving water quality has to be a collaborative effort. The way farmers grow their crops and manage their land is crucial in this. Using buffer strips between a crop and a waterway; growing crops that are not heavily water-hungry, ensuring the ground is covered when the main crop has been harvested, there are many things that farmers are doing very willingly. The NRT works closely with farmers and landowners to develop new ways of farming that benefit the waterways.

As became clear through the interviews however, there are things that everyone can do. Ceasing the use of harmful sprays and liquids in household cleaning; collecting water in storage tanks; turning taps off while brushing your teeth; not allowing your dog to swim in the water when flea treatment has been applied. The list is endless and by adopting just a few different behaviours, we can each make a big difference.

‘Whether it is cleaning the sink with a strong bleach, pouring fat down the sink after a Sunday roast, washing our cars with detergent, it all ends up in the river,’ says Steve. ‘And when the water flow is slow, all these chemicals and fats don’t get dissolved. They just sit in the river as a poisonous force.’

The state of the UK’s waterways is shocking and worrying, but with the groundswell of community action, epitomised by the River Wensum project, there is still hope that sparkling, free-flowing and clear waters vibrant with life in and around it is not an unattainable goal.

Learn more about the NRT CaSTCo citizen science project click here.

To volunteer, contact Elle Claiborn.

To listen to the podcast interview with Elle and Steve, click here or use your regular podcast provider.

This is the last in the series of Farming Social Hub’s Farming with Water. We will be back in the Autumn with a fresh series of episodes exploring the link between farming, food and health.