UK RIVER REPORT

Testing the limits. Can nitrate levels be used to safeguard the health of UK rivers?

Function of the study: to investigate the influence of nitrates on the health of UK rivers. This will consider the relative importance of the different sources and the consequences of nitrate pollution, and the need to impose limits to safeguard water quality and environmental health.

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To read the full details of the project, please follow the link at the bottom of this page.

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​Case studies: River Wye, River Great Ouse and River Dart.

River Wye​

An upland river, characterised by course riverbeds, developing into a lowland river from Hay-on-Wye, before becoming estuarine further along its course. [1] 

Defined by a landscape of semi-natural vegetation and permanent pasture, thick blankets of algae were observed covering the riverbed along its lower course near Redbrook. [1]

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1: Countryside Council for Wales. Site of Special Scientific Interest Citation. Countryside Council for Wales; [no date available]. [cited 2024 September 14]. Available from: https://naturalresources.wales/media/663017/SSSI_1342_Citation_EN00132f4.pdf

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River Great Ouse​

A lowland river that varies greatly across its catchment area, from internationally important chalk streams, to slow-flowing, silty, rivers, bordered by rare fens, floodplain grasslands and reedbeds. [2, 3] 

However, the area remains one of the fastest growing in the country, with clear and continued signs of human expansion, as observed at Milton Ernest. [3]​

2: Pinder LCV, Marker AFH, Mann RHK, Bass JAB, Copp GH. The River Great Ouse, a Highly Eutrophic, Slow-Flowing, Regulated, Lowland River in Eastern England. John Wiley and Sons, Ltd; 1998. [cited 2024 September 14]. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/%28SICI%291099-1646%28199705%2913%3A3%3C203%3A%3AAID-RRR449%3E3.0.CO%3B2-F

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3: Great Ouse Rivers Trust. About the Great Ouse. Great Ouse Rivers Trust; 2023. [cited 2024 September 14]. Available from:

https://www.greatouseriverstrust.org/about-the-great-ouse#

River Dart​

Originating high on central Dartmoor, the Dart widens at its middle reaches, before opening out and becoming tidal at its mouth. [4]​
 

Few changes were observed along the sampled section of the River Darts (from its source up until it becomes tidal at Totnes). The river maintained a clean and healthy appearance, distinguished by a mixture of gravel substrate and larger boulders and rocks.

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4: Coastal and Geotechnical Services. 5.1. River Dart. Coastal and Geotechnical Services; [no date available]. [cited 2024 September 14]. Available from: https://www.coastalandgeotechnicalservices.com/assets/docs/River_Management_in_England-Final_Report-Case_Studies_51_Dart.31480544.pdf