Having a river in your backyard is a lovely idea, not always so pleasant in reality, as fences and dead animals go swirling past in a flood, or when you find out that a city upstream is putting something in the water that shouldn’t be there.

Waterwatch has been a great way to find out what actually is swimming or floating under the river’s surface.   Previously we could only guess, but now I know the phosphate, nitrate and dissolved oxygen levels, turbidity, electrical conductivity and ph.During the first year I was collecting data it rained a lot, the river levels were high and the readings were very clean.  Since last year however, the river has been mostly low, and the nitrate levels are generally off the charts high. Continue reading →