Water Quality

River Academy

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Water Quality

Rivers bring water to life – but too often they are compromised by poor water quality. Healthy rivers with good water quality are able to support a rich wildlife community, feed clean water into our water treatment works and create stunning scenery for us all to enjoy. So, here at the Westcountry Rivers Trust, we are on a mission to improve the water quality of our rivers.

Rivers Bring Water to Life

Rivers are home to spectacular and precious wildlife and form a key part of our rich natural heritage…They are also great places for us to discover, interact with and enjoy the natural world around us.

Find out more about the work of Westcountry Rivers Trust...

Our Work

Become a Citizen Scientist

Already, we are seeing an army of Citizen Scientists heading to the riverside to gather information about their local rivers. By joining our Westcountry CSI programme we will give you the tools needed to detect signs of healthy – or unhealthy – rivers and streams. By sending us your observations, photos, wildlife sightings and evidence of pollution we can build up a picture of what’s going in on in our rivers and decide where needs more attention.

Join our campaign to improve water quality

Shockingly, only 17 % of our UK rivers are considered ‘healthy’ by the Environment Agency. Poor water quality is damaging aquatic ecosystems, reducing fish populations, adding to water treatment costs and reducing our enjoyment of these beautiful environments. Poor water quality; it’s our biggest bugbear at the Westcountry Rivers Trust and there are plenty of ways you can lend a hand.

Upstream Thinking

We – along with partners from South West Water, Devon Wildlife Trust, Cornwall Wildlife Trust & Exmoor National Park Authority – are working to improve the quality of water in our rivers for the Upstream Thinking project. Click on the image the learn more about our work.

Rivers Matter

We might not realise it, but our rivers, lakes and coasts inspire and sustain us all in our everyday lives.

They are steeped in our history, embody our natural heritage and will be a vital element of our future health and prosperity.

Our ‘Rivers bring water to life…’ brochure illustrates the importance of our watery places.