Northwich citizen scientists get UU grant for river sewage testing

The group received £1,075 from water company, United Utilities, to buy testing kits which measure levels of chemicals associated with both treated and untreated sewage outfalls. 

The grant followed a campaign by Northwich town councillor, Lee Siddall, who is currently leading the project. 

The group of 12 volunteers are being supported by the Angling Trust’s Water Quality Monitoring Network (WQMN), and will form part of a team of more than 700 volunteers regularly testing 201 rivers nationwide.

They will be testing for nitrates and phosphates from sources such as sewage outflows, as well as ammonia from agricultural slurry run-off.

Northwich town councillor, Lee Siddall, manageed to secure the funding needed for the project (Image: Newsquest)

They’ll also be collecting data on water temperature and conductivity, and noting their visual observations, all of which will be upload in situ via the WQMN’s app.  

The group met at Northwich Town Council offices for a training session on Thursday, February 29, where they were issued with test kits, known as ‘big yellow boxes’, which cost around £250 each.

This was followed by a full training and Q&A session with Angling Trust campaigns and advocacy manager, Kris Kent.

The volunteers will be testing at sites on the River Weaver and River Dane (Image: Newsquest)

Kris said: “The quality of the data they collect is comparable in quality to what a university-led research project could manage, allowing volunteer groups to develop an understanding of the general health of their river.

“They can establish the nature of the pollution. It might be consistently like that, or it might occur after a particular type of event such as a storm.

“Understanding the problem is the first step towards empowering people to do something about it.

The test kits allow volunteers to monitor phosphate, nitrate, ammonia, conductivity, and water temperature (Image: Newsquest)

“This project is not enough to solve the problems our rivers are facing, but it’s what we can do.

“Where volunteer groups start isn’t necessarily where they’ll end up. Down the line, they might invest in a constant monitoring station."

Cllr Lee Siddall explained the next step is to set up a steering committee, made up of people who know the river well, to determine the testing programme.  

He said: "We’ve so grateful to United Utilities for the grant which has allowed us to get this project off the ground.

"They’ve had a lot of flack in recent years over their contribution to river pollution in Northwich and elsewhere, but this shows they’re taking the problem seriously, and that they’re willing to engage with community members who passionately want to do something about it."

While some of the volunteers represented groups including Sustainability Northwich, Growzone, and Weaverham and Rudheath parish councils, others, like Melanie Bradley, came along because Northwich’s rivers are so important to them personally.

Melanie said: “I think the citizen science movement is wonderful as it empowers people to make an active contribution by collecting data on the health of their local environment.

“I live on the River Weaver, and I walk my dogs and my kids along it every day.

“To have watched our rivers go downhill in recent years has been devastating, and with all the new developments, such as Winnington Village and Rose Meadow, the pressure they’re under is only going to get worse.”