PLYMOUTH’s water loving MP Luke Pollard joined Westcountry Rivers Trust (WRT) on Friday, 28 January, to see how the charity is improving the health of the city’s streams.
The trust’s three-year Plymouth River Keepers (PRK) project brings together communities, business, and individuals across eight north west neighbourhoods to support water quality, biodiversity and prevent pollution in the area’s waterways.
Since it began in 2020, the project has run several community events such as litter picks, photographic monitoring, and the release of weevils to clear a pond of an invasive plant, but scientific tests indicate there is more work to be done.
The chief executive of WRT Dr Laurence Couldrick said: “It has been good to share the project’s successes and future aims with Mr Pollard.
“Our electrofishing surveys from 2021 show the streams have the potential to support excellent salmonid spawning, but fish migration issues need mitigation to improve passage for a variety of species such as the critically endangered eel.
“By continuing our work with the community and our partners South West Water and the Environment Agency, we aim to bolster the long-term ecosystem health of these streams for wildlife and for current and future generations.”
The project’s latest sampling indicates there are still issues such as high phosphate levels, often caused by agricultural run-off and the sewage system, which can cause a lack of oxygen in the water, impeding its quality and ability to support life.
Dr Couldrick added: “This can also indicate potential bacterial coliform pollution which creates health risks, particularly where people swim in our rivers and creeks.”
Volunteers have helped clean more than 32km2 of riparian habitat of litter and fly tipping, with around 151kg of litter removed, including 109kg of plastic and, so far, project participants have advised the project, and the Environment Agency, of 27 suspected pollution incidents.
Mr Pollard, the Labour (Co-op) MP for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport, said: “Learning about the PRK project and its work with local people, businesses, the farming community, education, and other environment-minded groups to care for these Plymouth streams has bolstered my passion for preventing the pollution of the city’s waterways.
“As a keen wild swimmer, I want to see cleaner rivers and seas around the south west, but for that to happen we need more people to get involved in taking steps to protect their local rivers. I am also campaigning for designated bathing water status at Devil’s Point.
“We are very lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world and we can all do something that makes our rivers cleaner and better for all those species living in and around our rivers. The work the PRK project is doing to restore and protect freshwater environments on our doorstep is vital to this.”
To find out more or to get involved with PRK, visit wrt.org.uk/project/plymouth-river-keepers/ or go to lukepollard.org/make-devils-point-a-bathing-water/ to learn more about the Devil’s Point campaign.