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Watercress and Winterbournes joins water quality monitoring network

Representatives from the Angling Trust, the Watercress and Winterbournes scheme, and the Test and Itchen Association © Angling Trust

Volunteers from the Watercress and Winterbournes scheme are teaming up with the Angling Trust to expand their monitoring of our chalk streams.

England's chalk streams are some of its most rare and precious habitats. Numbering just 210 worldwide, these vibrant ecosystems are home to species like the brown trout, white-clawed crayfish, kingfisher, and mayfly. Their cool, clear, oxygen-rich water makes them unique habitats with immense ecological value. Despite this, our chalk streams are struggling against serious threats like sewage pollution, agricultural practices, and over-abstraction of water.

The Trust is tackling this issue in various ways, including as a partner in Watercress and Winterbournes - a scheme that is protecting, enhancing, and celebrating the headwaters of the Rivers Test and Itchen. Scheme volunteers monitor water quality in the seven headwaters through regular riverfly monitoring. They use both the Anglers' Riverfly Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) and SmartRivers methodologies to spot signs of trouble in these streams.

The scheme is now building upon this monitoring by joining the Angling Trust’s Water Quality Monitoring Network (WQMN) along with another scheme partner, the Test and Itchen Association. The network, which launched in 2022, has 620 volunteers testing 175 rivers across England and Wales. The volunteers will be testing for phosphate, nitrate, and ammonia levels, in what will be the first catchment-wide monitoring from source to sea.

Kris Kent, Angling Trust Campaigns & Advocacy Manager who leads on the Water Quality Monitoring Network project, said:

“I grew up in chalk stream country and the plight of our chalk streams has been deeply concerning for me. That these iconic rivers are over-abstracted and widely polluted is saddening. So it has been great to be able to work with the Test and Itchen Association, and the Watercress and Winterbournes Partnership, to extend the WQMN across the Test, Itchen and Meon in Hampshire.

“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. In time, 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.”

Kathryn Boler, Watercress and Winterbournes Partnership Manager © Angling Trust

Kathryn Boler, Watercress and Winterbournes Partnership Manager © Angling Trust

Kathryn Boler, Watercress and Winterbournes Partnership Manager Trust, said:

“Chalk streams are an amazing natural resource, but one that we often take for granted and have treated poorly in recent decades. Hampshire’s chalk streams are suffering from a wide range of issues, including pollution, sedimentation, and over-abstraction.

“Volunteers from the Watercress and Winterbournes scheme are already monitoring riverflies 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.”

Jem Dunn, Executive Director of the Test and Itchen Association © Angling Trust

Jem Dunn, Executive Director of the Test and Itchen Association © Angling Trust

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.

“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. So, at the Test and Itchen Association we have engaged with the Angling Trust to investigate what’s going on in our waters. We have organised and sponsored a catchment-wide programme of water quality testing at over 30 sites every month. We will analyse the resulting data and act on our findings.”

Get involved

If you're passionate about building a positive future for our chalk streams, you can help to monitor their water quality by becoming a Chalk Stream Champion. Alongside other Watercress and Winterbournes volunteers, you'll gather data that is crucial to the conservation of these rare and precious habitats. Want to help in another way? Contact the scheme team at winterbournes@hiwwt.org.uk.

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