Britons Are Encouraged to Assist Monitor the Condition of Rivers, Streams, and Canals in UK

The Autumn Water Watch hopes to replicate the success of the Big Garden Birdwatch and the Big Butterfly Count, in which hundreds of thousands of individuals record observations to contribute to a national picture.

People are being invited to visit their local river, lake, or stream this weekend, from October 14 to 16, and record a series of observations regarding pollution, plastic trash, invasive species that may be there, and animals in and around the water.

Britons urged to help monitor the state of rivers

(Photo : kermit nicou/Unsplash)

Planet Patrol, a non-profit environmental organization, devised the initiative.

The Planet Patrol app will assist volunteers through their observations, and the data will be analyzed by Loughborough University scientists to help decide what needs to be done to address the UK's water quality issue.

Lizzie Carr, who founded Planet Patrol in 2016, said that with no UK river in "excellent" health, it was more necessary than ever to monitor UK waterways.

River sampling by the Environment Agency fell to a 10-year low in 2021, and experts warn that the greatest threat to river water quality is a lack of monitoring.

Over the weekend, the public is urged to visit their local river or lake and spend 15 minutes documenting their views on the app, which will guide them through the process.

Without the work of volunteers, environmental concerns such as poor water quality would go unnoticed and unaccounted for, damaging our environment and ecosystems silently until it was too late, according to Carr, as per The Guardian.

The water watch, according to Dr. Thomas Stanton, a freshwater expert at Loughborough University who will be analyzing the data, will give a nationwide overview of freshwater habitats.

They believed that this will demonstrate how simple it is for members of the public to think about their relationship to their local rivers and will allow us to examine the diversity of water bodies, he added.

It will increase awareness of river pressures.

Experts expect that this type of study will ensure that freshwater ecosystems are recognized and cherished and that it will inform policy choices.

Also Read: Volcanic Eruptions Reduce Flow Of Major Rivers, New Study Shows

How You Can Help Protect Rivers at Home

Use biodegradable cleaning products and earth-friendly body products at home and on the river.

All of this, as well as pollutants, is flushed down the drain and into the rivers, as per Wilderness Aware Rafting.

Keep a full load in your washing machine and dishwasher since it consumes less water due to the volume of the garments and dishes.

Turn off auto-dry and leave the dishwasher open to allow the dishes to air dry naturally.

Showers should be scheduled. A 10-minute shower utilizes 50 gallons of water at a rate of 5 gallons per minute.

If you drank one gallon of water every day, you'd be flushing 50 days' worth of water down the toilet in 10 minutes.

When brushing your teeth, turn off the water or fill a cup with water that you'll use so that perfectly good water doesn't run down the drain.

When not in use, turn off lights and unplug chargers. Water is required in energy production to cool thermal power plants as well as for extraction, transportation, and processing in fuel generation.

Take part in Meatless Mondays. It not only adds variety and creativity to your meals, but it also saves roughly 600 gallons of water owing to the quantity of water necessary to cultivate feed crops and water cattle.

Pick up rubbish and trash and place it in the recycling or garbage cans. A lot of rubbish gets swept down storm drains and into rivers.

Related article: Microplastics Linger in Rivers for Years Before Polluting Oceans, Reveals Alarming Research