We are going on a Safari, but not as you know it. Our aim is to work with the Bedfordshire community to spot pipes and outfalls that lead to runoff pollution into our local River Great Ouse.
The reason we need your help is that in Bedfordshire, sewage and rainwater flow through separate pipes. Sewage goes to treatment plants, and rainwater flows into rivers.
However, sometimes systems get crossed (due to mistakes, blockages, broken infrastructure, or even deliberate actions), leading to sewage leaking into rivers. Separate from sewage overflows, this “diffuse pollution” is an often-overlooked driver of urban pollution.
We still don’t know how much they contribute, so more surveys of the river are needed to better understand their impact.
The magic of Outfall Safari is that, by working with the community to find these pipes/outfalls, we can pinpoint where further investigation is needed and use our testing programmes to address them.
Pollution from surface water outfalls can harm our rivers, even in places where drains should carry only rainwater. Outfall Safaris help identify these hidden pollution sources.
Our testing programme regularly highlights sections of the river with excessively high levels of E. coli, but with no apparent source.
Whilst it is most unlikely that the contamination comes from a treatment plant, we have to identify its source, as it is undoubtedly damaging the river’s health and potentially the health of river users.
What we need you to do
We are planning an Outfall Safari programme on the River Great Ouse between Turvey, the entry point into Bedfordshire and Roxton, as it leaves the county.
We need help identifying pipes and outfalls, or water running from them into this section of the river, that are not the usual sewer pipes.
This will provide much more in-depth information to help us understand what pollutants are coming from which sources.
These pipes/outfalls can be seen from the bankside, so if you spot any whilst walking, fishing, paddle boarding, etc., we would really appreciate it if you could send us the information to info@bedsgovet.org.
If you are in a field or a rural location, the App WhatThreeWords can help us pinpoint the exact spot. Below are a couple of examples of these types of outfalls.
Data analysis update
Our new Trustee, Tony Gilbert, has developed an easy-to-use, easy-to-navigate data portal that captures all our data to date. Here you can see the results of our testing and a snapshot of the current water quality.
The data portal will be added to our BedsGOVET website shortly, but in the meantime, you can access it here. We will tell you more about how to use the portal in our next column update.
If you have any feedback in the meantime, please let us know.
- Alan Horn, Chair: alan.horn@bedsgovet.org
- Inga Wells, Trustee, Marketing: inga.wells@bedsgovet.org
- Education, Alison Symonds: Alison.symonds@bedsgovet.org
- Volunteering , Trustee, Henry Lafferty: henry.lafferty@bedsgovet.org
- Data Analysis Portal: Tony Gilbert, tonygilbert@besgovet.org
To find out more about BedsGOVET and the Don’t Lose the Ouse campaign, head to our new look website or our Facebook page.
By Inga Wells. Executive MBA, PG Dip DMS.
The Bedford Independent is proud to support BedsGOVET in their
vital work to monitor water quality in the River Great Ouse
and provide them with space for a column as
part of their Don’t Lose the Ouse campaign.
