…..no, much better, Lydia Deacon from the West Country Rivers Trust gave Coastwise members a comprehensive insight into the work the Trust does to monitor and improve river water quality.
This is clearly a crucial element in coastal water quality that is so important for our marine life.
Lydia ran through the main sources of pollution, what can be done about them, and outlined the ideal catchment to improve river quality.
As well as water quality, quantity is important; high rainfall in a large catchment such as we have in North Devon for the Taw and Torridge – a lot of Dartmoor – has the potential to casue damaging floods.
This can be alleviated by catchment management, including tree planting and introduction of beavers. These, by building dams, create natural water retention, which modulates water flow lower down the rivers.
Lydia showed how sampling for characteristics such as turbidity, phosphates and solids content is carried out, and how the results are used.
Overall, a very interesting insight into some vital envronmental management work, carried out by a charitable body that has to find its own funding.
A YouTube video of Lydia's talk will be available to view here shortly……