River Avon Sampling Project
The Environmental Issues Group is taking part in a project to monitor pollution levels in the River Avon and its tributaries in and around Pershore. There are documents and links on the right of this page to help people who are carrying out testing. The SafeAvon website contains useful information on river testing (see Citizens Science page). Useful instruction videos covering the tests being carried out can be viewed by clicking the links below:
- Video 1: Things to bring to the field
- Video 2: Collecting a sample Bankside
- Electrical Current and water temperature - Video 3: Temperature and EC
- Nitrate/Nitrite Level - Video 5: Nitrate Test Strips
- Phosphate Level - Video 4b: Phosphate Hanna Checker
Background to the Project
The project is being run by Dr Geoff Sallis and aims to regularly collect water samples along the length of the River Avon and test them for pollutants caused by the release of untreated sewage and agricultural runoff. The results are being collected and compiled, with the aim of presenting them in an authoritative report that provides a history of contamination from all sources.
Dr Sallis is working with interested local groups, who carry out weekly testing of river water samples, and has already established regular testing sites around Stratford and Tewksbury. With the Environmental Issues group joining in with the project, the stretch of river around Pershore will now also be covered by testing.
Dr Sallis has provided advice and training to members of the Environmental Issues group who are carrying out weekly water sampling at different sites in the Pershore area, both on the River Avon itself and its tributaries, which can also be sites of untreated sewage release. The u3a has been fortunate to secure funding from Councillor Dan Boatright-Greene for the equipment and supplies needed to carry out the testing.
Most importantly, an aim of the project is to bring water pollution issues into wider public and governmental awareness. If you are interested in knowing more about the project, the SafeAvon website provides details and an overview of the results that have been collected so far.