The local charity that tests for water quality along the River Great Ouse in Bedfordshire, the Bedfordshire Great Ouse Valley Environmental Trust (BedsGOVET) has been successful in further important fundraising that will greatly expand its activities.
The charity currently tests for nitrate, phosphate and e-coli contamination in the river at 12 sites between Turvey and Great Barford, hand has been further backed by National Highways and Garfield Weston.
This will enable us to acquire some Proteus monitors so we can undertake 24/7 monitoring at sites of concern.
The addition of sophisticated monitoring equipment will underwrite the accuracy of testing and also allow additional monitoring of ammonia levels.
These grants are in addition to the continuous help received from Wells and Co. with laboratory testing. The charity is also grateful for the increasing relationship with Bedford Borough Council.
As Chair of BedsGOVET, I know the team are excited about this further support from new funders as we will now be able to monitor the river more closely using real-time, high-tech Proteus sensors.
This means we can continually review data to update the community on the river’s safety status in real-time.
BedsGOVET’s ongoing tests during 2024 have shown that e-coli levels have repeatedly exceeded the safe limit for bathing (i.e. up to 900 cfu per 100ml) in a number of the test sites through Bedfordshire.
An overview of BedsGOVET’s activities is available in this short film produced and funded by Wells & Co.
By Alan Horn
BedsGovet
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.
Read: Wells & Co and Bedford Independent team up with water quality campaigners
