Anglers Against Pollution - Why We Need to Help Now!

So how does pollution affect our rivers? The main issue with pollution from sweage outflows is the introduction of phosphates into our river. These phosphates lead to an increase in weed growth, which in the short term acts as a benefit to our fish stocks as it creates cover and protection, but once levels exceed a certain point it can trigger an algal bloom. 

These algal blooms are a rapid growth of algae in the water, often resulting in a coloured scum on the surface, but also lead to a depletion of oxygen in the water, causing an oxygen crash. The result of this is the perish of fish stocks and other river inhabitants as only the algae can survive.  

To identify pollution in our waterways, there are specific indicators that we need to test for and these are temperature, ammonia, phopshate, nitrate and turbidity (particles suspended in the water. It may sound complicated but to test for these indicators, all we need are a few pieces of equipments that are not dissimilar to those seen in school science classes. 

To test these indicators we first need to obtain a water sample. For this sample, the WQMN advise that it must be from the middle of the river in the flowing water to give the most accurate reading, and to do this they have used a bucket tied to a length of rope. 

Our first visit was to a feature filled stretch of the upper River Kennet on the Upper Benyons stretch and although at first glance you would not think there is any pollution in the river, once the team started to test the samples, the result was quite shocking! 

This was because all the indicators such as nitrates, phopshates and suspended solids were much higher than expected for a river in good ecological condition. We then moved further downstream just above where the Kennet flows into the RIver Thames, and here the levels were even higher!

This is as a result of a couple of sewage plants based in between the two collecting sites and although not at levels of a heavy pollution incident, they were still concerning for the team, as I was informed that the levels were increasing every time they tested. 

So how can we help? To action the government into addressing the issue, we need to collect as much data as possible, so we can support statements with comprehensive evidence. By accompanying the WQMN team on the Kennet today, I was surprised at how easy the tests were to do and also how important they are, as we know our rivers aren't in a great state, but we need to prove it for any action to be taken! 

For any clubs or anglers wanting to get involved and help safeguard the future of our waters, you can enrol in The Water Quality Monitoring Network by using this link to the Angling Trusts Anglers Against Pollution page. Once a member, you will be able to test your local waters pollution levels and add your findings to the ever growing WQMN database. To achieve change, we need as many anglers and clubs as possible to get involved so we can we can gather enough data to get the voice of anglers heard by the government so we can protect the states of our rivers not only for fishing but for all wildlife.