Earthwatch: Great UK Waterblitz
A country-wide blitz event empowers citizen scientists to record valuable insights in to freshwater trends across the UK.
People-powered data provides regional insights
CaSTCo projects provide citizen scientists with the opportunity to meaningfully engage in data collection at different levels. One way to introduce new water stewards to water monitoring is through one-time, large-scale, “blitz” events. Earthwatch’s FreshWater Watch programme includes a biannual ‘Great UK WaterBlitz’ event, where thousands of citizen scientists from across the U.K. collect samples over a four-day period. Citizen scientists are well positioned to capture data at a large spatial scale, and the first two Great UK WaterBlitz events Earthwatch Europe organised in June and September 2024, are great examples of a blitz event done well. With their simple testing protocol for nitrates and phosphates, mechanisms for distribution, and data analysis, they were able to compare nutrient pollution concentrations at the country, county and river basin levels, determining at a regional scale where future interventions might be needed.
The context
Our freshwater bodies are not adequately monitored across the UK. Due to limited resources, official regulating bodies and environmental groups are restricted to monitoring a limited number of locations, with different regions having different capacities to test.
Water quality monitoring methods can vary from region to region, meaning data may not always be easily comparable, and can often take a long time to be shared. Data may also be collected at different times across different regions, and so environmental and weather variability can further affect comparability.
Who
This event was run by Earthwatch Europe’s FreshWater Watch programme, supported by hundreds of regional groups and engaged with thousands of citizen scientists. Professional scientists interpreted the results and presented them to participants, answering their questions about the health of rivers.
FreshWater Watch is a global citizen science project developed by environmental charity Earthwatch Europe.
Where
Samples were taken all over England, Scotland, and Wales (in the June 2024 Great UK WaterBlitz event, there were not enough data points from Northern Ireland to undertake meaningful analysis)
Map of results will appear here soon
2,500 citizen scientists took over 1,300 measurements.
Tests for nitrates, phosphates, and site observations provided valuable data and context
75% of sites across the UK showed poor ecological health. Link to the full report is in the links at the bottom of this page!
Anglian and Thames river basin districts have the worst water quality (For example, of 452 samples in the Thames, 89% were poor).
Methods
The Great UK WaterBlitz is a simplified protocol of the standard FreshWater Watch programme. The campaign uses Kyoritsu Packtest low-range nitrate-nitrogen and Kyoritsu Packtest phosphate-phosphorus.
These tests have been compared and used by academics in the Earthwatch network and are part of over 100 peer-reviewed published papers.
FreshWater Watch includes simple instructions with their mailed-out supplies, plus online training videos. One of the benefits of the standardised methods is that it makes training and data interpretation easier.
2,630
People participated in the blitz, monitoring at 1,380 site
75%
Of the datapoints showed poor ecological health
*data from the June 2024 WaterBlitz
Data collection
FreshWater Watch data is open access and displayed in real-time on their website, with over 50,000 datasets (which they define as all observations at a location on a particular date) collected globally. In the UK, 80 community groups collect and upload data on a monthly basis. Thanks to their unified methods protocol, Earthwatch offers built-in guidance and real-time interpretation for those entering data using the ArcGIS data entry system, answering the question, “What do the results of my testing mean?”.
Their map interface, which was developed using ArcGIS, shows you, at a glance, whether data are indicative of good (green) or bad (red) water quality and ecological health. You can filter the map by nitrate levels, phosphate levels, turbidity levels, group/event names, or sample data. They also show simple bar graphs for concentrations. They perform quality assurance on their dataset, and there is an option to download all their data from their platform (updated every Monday) in CSV or XLSX formats.
ArcGIS allows data from other sources to be added as “layers”. In Henley-on-Thames, citizen scientists also collect data on E. coli levels, for example. Freshwater Watch data is also used to report on SDG 6.3.2 in partnership with the UN Global Environment Monitoring Systems.
Social value
The blitz format is a great way to engage those interested in water quality and want to make the next step in learning more while at the same time providing valuable data. Many monitoring programmes are long-term commitments and so offering a way for those looking to ‘dip their toes’ into water stewardship builds both interest and skills in growing their capacity for participating. Of Great UK WaterBlitz participants surveyed, 46% had no involvement in the environment prior to the blitz, 60% improved their understanding of water quality issues and 22% reported a positive shift In their relationship with nature. Further, testing at a national scale helps people zoom out to understand the larger context and see their role in working together.
Demonstrating CaSTCo principles
While many have conducted localized blitzes, Earthwatch’s Great UK WaterBlitz is innovative in that they were able to fundraise for supplies, design a programme that could be executed remotely and independently, and coordinate across the entire UK.
The entire programme also shows how powerful a unified and simple protocol can be in engaging widely.
“I have gone from seeing the river running clear and full as a young person, to now, in my old home town the river being clogged with plants and algae due to the run-off of nitrates.”
– Jane Stewart, volunteer monitor on the River Colne
“To people out there who want to take action: go for it! If you’re concerned about the environment, then get involved in a citizen science project. The data you record will be really valuable!”
– Reg Godwin and the Holsworthy Kingfishers, environmental scientist and volunteer, River Deer