By Lauren Monaghan, Junior Local Democracy Reporter
A public survey which uncovers the extent of pollution in and around the River Trent has again opened up to allow Nottinghamshire people to help protect the river.
Trent Rivers Trust has called on people within the River Trent area to take part in the The Big River Watch.
The initiative gathers local river data from across the UK and Ireland to assess the state of waterways.
Last year more than half of people who took part in the scheme found evidence of pollution.
Trent Rivers, part of the national Rivers Trust, is a charity which focuses on the restoration and conservation of rivers, including waterways that join with the Trent.
The Big River Watch started last Friday (September 6) and will continue until Thursday (September 12).
The trust is encouraging people in and around Nottinghamshire to take part in the initiative by downloading the free Big River Watch app to log their observations on waterways near them.
The app allows users to submit their perceptions of their river’s naturalness, wildlife and pollution, along with the mental benefits of being near water.
In 2023 more than 500 participants across the Trent area spent six days recording data on the River Trent and its many tributaries, including the Dove, Derwent, Soar, Cole, Blithe.
Around 56 per cent of participants found evidence of silt, livestock, algal and sewage as the most common signs of pollution.
The team at Trent Rivers Trust aims to build nature-based solutions to help rivers function organically.
Vanessa Sumpmann, Communications Officer at Trent Rivers Trust, said: “The last two surveys, we’ve seen that people are recording issues with livestock pollution, road runoff, sewage.
“The issue isn’t a single issue, it’s not just sewage, we really need to restore our landscapes to improve the health of our rivers.”
Some of Nottingham’s waterway problems may also stem from unnatural modifications made to them.
Vanessa said: “A lot of our rivers are very much modified, [the River Trent] has a bit of a concrete bank.
“Cromwell Weir [near Cromwell, north of Newark], that has a massive impact on salmon migration- a lot of rivers we see they’re not in their natural state and a part of our mission is to restore that as much as we can and allow rivers to hold the life they can hold.
“If we look at our rivers, none of them are in good overall condition, the number one reason is agricultural pollution, followed by sewage pollution.”
The team are hoping the initiative will “open” up the conversation regarding local rivers and the state they are in.
Vanessa added: “I think it’s quite difficult for the public to look at a river and to feel that confidence to see what it is that may be right or wrong with that river without having these tools to ask the right questions.
“I think it’s about people connecting with their local river and reflecting on the impact being near blue spaces has on them and putting your stretch of river on the map and making sure you feel empowered to recognise the state it is in and start those conversations to help up demand better for rivers locally and nationally.”
Matt Easter, chief executive of Trent Rivers Trust, said: “People are treasuring their rivers here in the Trent catchment and concerns are running justifiably high.
“By joining the Big River Watch, people can put their stretch of river on a map that will help us start conversations locally and demand better for rivers nationally. The Big River Watch is a chance to invest in your own wellbeing and that of your river.”
Results of the survey will be updated in real time on the trust’s online interactive dashboard.
