Life in the River Water Project
If your school would like to run a Life in the River Project then simply get in touch. I remain passionate for this enlightening and exciting discovery of life in our rivers and streams. The best teachers know how to extract every educational aspect from a theme. Even the most uninterested pupil can complete unusual amounts of work, having taken part in this project.
We are looking for funding to allow this project to come to your school. Meanwhile why not contact me with your thoughts on running this project in your school. I'm sure we can come to some arrangement with money.
Work Sheets Colne Valley River of Life Risk Assessment Summary
Fresh water invertebrates require various given amounts of dissolved oxygen in river and stream water in order to live. These creatures can live 9 to 15 months, and often longer. The fly larvae live most of their lives in water, many of them emerge as flies, to mate and lay eggs in the water, for the following generation to grow and replicate the cycle.
Sometimes it does rain Mostly its just good fun The fascination of discovery
The invertebrates identified can be given a score using the British Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) scoring system. The BMWP score is divided by the number of invertebrate species, and or families. This provides a useful average score per taxon. Testing every 6 months will provide a good understanding of water quality over the previous 6 months. It can take only 15 minutes of a pollution incident, to destroy fresh water eco-systems for upto a year. Repeated incidents will ensure a fresh water system remains virtually lifeless, or worse.
The BMWP score list uses Latin Names. As these projects involve school children and adults who don't know the value of Latin, it was decided to use common names. Score sheets using these common names can be made as above. The method of scoring is where a family or species is present, regardless of numbers, then one score is given.
An example would be with the identification of Stone Fly Larvae. The presence of one type of stone fly larvae would give one score of 10. However, should there be more than one type of stone fly larvae, then a score of 10 would be given for each of the different types found. This is where more detailed identification is needed. I found The Observers Book of Pond Life ( strange place to find fresh water invertebrates, but never mind ) to be an excellent help for more detailed identification.
Scores from a number of sites along a river or stream can give a good indication of water quality. The following images show just how useful this can be:-
The invertebrate scoring can be cross referenced with colourmetric analysis of ammonia, nitrates and phosphate levels. Colourmetric tests are simple. The correct tablets are crushed in sequence, and added to a 10ml sample of water. Once the sample turns a particular colour, this can then be read with the colour chart included in the kit.
Where there are low levels of invertebrates, then this could be the result of pollution. High levels of ammonia, nitrates and phosphates would identify the pollution as being either domestic or agricultural slurries, sewage or fertilizers. Where there are low levels of invertebrates, and low levels of ammonia, nitrates and phosphates, then the pollution is industrial, either current or historical. Its a process of elimination, and its a good guide.
This is not a perfect system, but then I don't know of any perfect measuring system. At the same time it provides a good indication of the problems of pollution.
Also in addition, colourmetric tests for phosphates are not usually sufficiently low level. My test kit has the lowest reading as 10mg/L. Legislation requires levels of phosphates not above mg/L. However, I have found levels as high as 30mg/L. So these tests can identify major phosphate pollution points.
This information can form a base line survey, from which action to either retain good quality environments, especially when faced with developments. In the case of the Colne Valley, the information led to a bid for funding for a project officer to work at improving the river environments. In the Spen Valley this provided information which enabled the community to pressurize Local Authorities, Agencies and Industry to act within the law regarding pollution.
The River quality analysis was completed with an international conference on The River of Life. This was largely organized by my good friend Mike O'Roarke. ( Go to Rock Music through the navigation pages to see Mike and myself doing a Blues Brothers send up ) People from all over the country and the world came to Huddersfield, to relate their own experiences of raising the profile of water issues. It was re-assuring to meet people from around the world, each of whom have their own difficulties in solving major problems surrounding water quality.
When people are either unaware of the problems that exist, or have simply forgotten what the issues are, these projects are a kindly reminder of the impact of modern human lifestyles on our planet.
The
health and safety of all who take part in this project is uttermost in the
design of the work carried out. Health and safety talk is given to each party,
to the effect that all behaviour is to be responsible. Irresponsible behaviour
will result in such a person being removed and prohibited from further work in
the water.
Firstly
it is recognised that water is extremely dangerous. Therefore should there be
any doubt in entering the water, then no one will enter the water. Sampling
points are always at sections of shallow rapids. Water greater than ankle deep,
is deemed too deep for entry. Storm water will not be entered at any time.
Sampling can be done from the bank sides.
Given
that sampling will take place in shallow rapids, the risk of danger remains low,
and the hazards also are believed to be low.
Similar project work has happened for the past 11 years, throughout West Yorkshire, with ages from junior school age, to pensioners. No one in this time has ever been even slightly hurt. Never the less, constant vigilance is the key feature of the project.
Maybe you would like to do your own project. If so then why not down load these images and test your own local stream.
Or maybe you are already doing this work. If so then why not send in your information, which I will list on this web site. Together we can build the momentum needed for change.
I find it encouraging that in looking after the environment of these very tiny invertebrate species, we as humans are doing ourselves a favor in making our own environment more healthy to live in.
The proposed program of river tests underwent a number of meetings and was awaiting a start date. Once more nothing else happened. If anyone knows how to find funding for a school stream testing program please do let me know.
A river testing project could map water quality for the region, and to apply public pressure to retain good quality habitats, and to restore degraded habitats. This could also have a regional, national and international dimension.
There is some progress in the Spen Valley though !
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