Citizen science testing of river water quality will expand this year in an attempt to make the data part of official monitoring of waterways, the head of an independent environmental research group has said.

The use of ordinary people across the country to test river water quality for pollutants including phosphates, nitrates and other chemicals has captured the imagination of thousands of volunteers. In 2024 more than 7,000 people took part in river testing “blitzes” run over two weekends by the NGO Earthwatch Europe. The research, using standardised testing equipment provided by the NGO and Imperial College London, gathered data from almost 4,000 freshwater sites across the UK.

It provided an insight into the cocktail of pollutants from water companies and agricultural runoff, which are contributing to the crisis in river ecosystems.