Inspired, and worried, by the docu-drama ‘Dirty Business’ about the water companies’ sewage scandal, Hold Fast, the floating bookshop in Leeds Dock have started to test the water they are floating in.
“I’ve spent over half of my life on boats and have noticed changes – not all for the better” explains Chris
“To be honest, I think there is less ‘stuff’ in the inland waterways these days – trolleys, old mattresses and furniture etc are thankfully much less common, smaller pieces of litter are about the same now but sewage? That was unheard of in the early days but now it’s not unusual.”
Contacting the Canal and River Trust gets the response ‘it’s nothing to do with them’ and nothing happens when they contact the Environment Agency. But they were impressed by the ordinary people and how much they were able to discover and push for change in the programme.
So, like many other people around the country, they signed up to test the water – with no vested or financial interests in the results they hope and believe ‘citizen science’ will produce honest results and they are going to share them.
Chris and Victoria signed up to Planet Patrol planetpatrol.co and soon received their test kits. The first results appear to show quite good water quality, if a bit acidic. Being in the dock means that they get little throughput of water from the River Aire, so they are keen for others living near the river to join them in taking measurements.
Hold Fast’s results will be uploaded to the Planet Patrol app where you can see what’s happening around our waterways and the collected data will create a clearer picture of what needs to be done.
“To be honest the results don’t mean much to us – we don’t have a science background – but it’s a nice way to play our part – and the data will help others” says Victoria.
“Chris and his big net fish out an average of three bags of rubbish a week and we’ve done our best to create habitat for wildlife on our boat. We currently have two nests – Barry the moorhen on the tyres on the waterline and Audrey the duck in our flower barrel.
“We love the nature we get but we want so much more of it! The city is an inhospitable environment for animals – the waterways need to be a green corridor threading through it and that starts with clean rivers and canals.”
Water testing kits from Planet Patrol cost £25 and include everything you need. Follow simple instructions to test for phosphate, nitrate and nitrite, pH and temperature. Take measurements at the same spot every fortnight, record your results and upload them through the app. Full details at planetpatrol.co/water-patrol.
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