Test and Itchen volunteers join first catchment wide water monitoring

The Angling Trust launched the Water Quality Monitoring Network (WQMN) last year as part of the Anglers Against Pollution campaign, supported by Orvis.

Next month, 45 more volunteers from the Test and Itchen Association and the Watercress and Winterbournes Partnership will be joining the WQMN project, adding to the total of 620 volunteers from 235 clubs testing water quality on 175 rivers across England and Wales.

The new recruits have been trained by the Angling Trust and will record water quality on 12 rivers across the Test, Itchen and Meon areas, testing for phosphate, nitrate, and ammonia levels in what will be the first catchment-wide monitoring from source to sea.

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Jem Dunn, executive director of the Test and Itchen Association, said: “Excellent water quality in good quantity is what chalk streams should be all about. Sadly, like many other rivers, the Test and Itchen suffer from too much water abstraction and levels of pollution that are slowly killing the rivers. Habitat has been lost and some species are now so threatened that they risk extinction. The iconic chalk stream salmon is one such example of a species clinging to survival by the thinnest of threads.

Jem Dunn (Image: Angling Trust)

“We need to arrest that decline now and take action to promote improvement before it’s too late.  Understanding more clearly what the water quality picture looks like, right across the catchment, is the first, vital step.”

Kathryn Boler, Watercress and Winterbournes partnership manager at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, said: “Hampshire’s chalk streams are suffering from a wide range of issues, including pollution, sedimentation, and over-abstraction.

Kathryn Boler (Image: Angling Trust)

“Volunteers from the Watercress and Winterbournes scheme are already monitoring river flies on the headwaters of the rivers Test and Itchen, and we're excited to build upon this alongside the Angling Trust and the Test and Itchen Association. The additional monitoring will complement our current methods, helping us to understand the pressures on our chalk streams and identify the places that need urgent action.”

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Project leader Kris Kent, from the Angling Trust, said: “This is a major milestone for the Water Quality Monitoring Network as it is the first time volunteers will be monitoring from source to sea across three catchments.

“The data we gather will enable us to highlight the various pollution sources blighting the rivers and enable us to address them either through our campaigning work or through practical habitat improvements. It has been a pleasure working with the two organisations and such a large number of volunteers, who are so clearly passionate about their local rivers and so determined to see things improve.”

The Test and Itchen Association has around 400 members including river owners, river keepers and those invested in conserving the rivers.