New website launched to show river health

Oxford Rivers Portal has been launched following increased concern over the state of England’s rivers

A new website has been launched to help people understand the health of the River Thames so they can make informed choices about safe conditions for leisure activities.

The Oxford Rivers Portal is a website with a map that shows water levels, live raw sewage spill alerts and treatments, as well as water quality measurements.

The site has been set up by environmental charities The Rivers Trust, Thames21 and the research institute UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH).

Dr Virginie Keller, an environmental modeler at UKCEH, said: "Our portal is a one-stop shop, bringing together a variety of data in an accessible way.”

Previously, these varied data sources were available on different websites and were difficult to access, the charities said.

“River pollution is now a major issue of concern for many people but it’s difficult to get clear, up-to-date information about water quality and conditions locally," Ms Keller said.

Users can click on the map and zoom in to more than 2,000 locations to find out real-time information and data from the past three years.

The information includes live raw sewage spill alerts, water quality measurements taken by the Environment Agency and citizen scientists, water levels, flood warnings, bacteria measurements and sewage treatment rates.

Wallingford Beach, one of Oxfordshire’s designated bathing waters, is included on the map

Claire Robertson, Oxford rivers project officer at Thames21, said: "Water quality and the health of rivers must improve.

"The main sources of pollution are agriculture and the water industry, plus a growing threat from plastics and forever chemicals."

She continued: "As more people look to England’s rivers for recreation, we all need to up our game.

“We hope this portal makes it easier for people to decide whether they want to swim or take out their canoe, or paddle board, on a certain day or not."

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We welcome the Oxford Rivers Portal, which is a great initiative to help keep the public informed.

“Improving the health of our rivers requires action from everyone, and we continue to work with partners, landowners and water companies to improve Oxfordshire’s rivers.”