Rivers as a resource for all

England's rivers are used for a multitude of recreational uses, from walking to rowing to swimming. Rivers are also used for release of effluent from waste water treatment plants and can suffer from agricultural run-off, which can lead to pollution of England's waterways. We need you to help us better understand how England's rivers are used and perceived, through filling in an anonymous survey. We also need you to send in samples of river water from England's rivers and streams so that we can determine levels of pollution and antibiotic resistant bacteria. We will then analyse, map and display this data to share with you and policy makers to help better understand our rivers.

Survey

The general public will be invited to participate in the project by responding anonymously to a short survey online.

Sampling

The general public will be invited to become a scientist for the day. They will be asked to collect samples from a local river or stream, record the GPS position and send it to the University of Warwick for analysis.

Analysis

Samples will be chemically analysed at the University of Warwick for quantification of selected pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and other relevant pollutants. The samples will also be used for detection of antibiotic resistance bacteria using both culture of bacteria and DNA based methods.