frog environmental are working with Friends of River Crane Environment (FORCE) and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) to deliver an innovative Citizen Science project.

The project aims to collect water quality data from across the Crane Catchment. This information will then be used to determine actions to help achieve Good Ecological Potential under the Water Framework Directive (WFD).

By creating a water quality monitoring network with support from the Environment Agency, Thames Water and a high level of involvement from the local community the project seeks to enable a more cost effective approach to achieving targets set out under the WFD.

The involvement of local universities will also play a key role bringing a wide range of water quality expertise on the River Crane. Kingston University, St Mary’s University and Royal Holloway are all planning to lead on various research aspects as the project develops.

Local people are tackling the problem of poor water quality head on by becoming trained Citizen Scientists. Having attended specially designed training events these Citizen Scientists are already playing an essential role in the project by collecting water samples from across the catchment. The data produced as a result of sampling will be used to help establish what is causing the most damage to the River Crane and where efforts should be focused to help solve these problems.

Urban catchments such as the Crane suffer from a wide range of pollutants from different sources such as road run off and misconnections. This allows sewage and other contaminants to enter our surface waters. The resulting poor water quality impacts on plants & animals and reduces the value of our rivers to local communities.

frog environmental recognises the importance of establishing strong partnerships across a wide range of stakeholders to enable knowledge transfer and create a sustainable, long-term approach to catchment management.