Surveying Health of Local Rivers

During May 2018 the River Thame Conservation Trust is looking to enlist the help of residents, groups and communities across the River Thame Catchment (click on image to enlarge) to participate in a water sampling project to help find clean, unpolluted water where wildlife can thrive.

Through the survey, volunteers can sign up to use quick and simple kits to test local ponds, streams, ditches and rivers for two widespread nutrient pollutants: nitrate and phosphate.

New, quick and simple kits mean that everyone, from complete freshwater novices to professionals, now have the opportunity to take part in our first catchment wide survey of water quality.

Volunteers will use these kits to measure the levels of two widespread nutrients, nitrate and phosphate, in the River Thame, and its many surrounding water bodies as it meanders its way past Aylesbury to join the River Thames at Dorchester-on-Thames.

The River Thame Catchment is an area where there is little information on the water quality of its freshwater landscape. Yet its freshwater habitats, from the biggest lakes to the tiniest trickles, pools and springs, are home to a vast array of plants and animals. It only takes a little pollution to cause the loss of much of this wildlife. With increasing pressures on the freshwater landscape, it is now more important than ever to find the clean water places, those that are free of pollution, where wildlife can thrive.

To sign up to take part in Clean Water Quest this May and for more information please visit the website.

Registered Charity No. 1156118