Water monitors installed to track river pollution

Resident Dave Ford, who has a monitor in his garden, said trout and other fish regularly swim in the nearby river

Hundreds of monitors are to be installed in rivers and streams to track changes in water quality in the hope of restoring wildlife.

Northumbrian Water said it would put 390 devices in locations between Northumberland and North Yorkshire over the next four years.

One has already been placed in the garden of Dave Ford, which backs on to the Rainton Burn in Houghton-le-Spring, which is between Sunderland and Durham.

Mr Ford said wildlife such as otters had return to the river over the last two decades, which the water firm hopes to help replicate through the use of its monitors.

"Twenty years ago whenever there was a storm, a storm overflow at the end of the garden used to open and after it had passed I'd have to walk up and down the stream clearing rubbish," Mr Ford said.

"That doesn't happen anymore.

"I've seen a number of otters in the stream, and I also know that it's got a very healthy population of freshwater shrimp."

Mr Ford said the beck had changed "dramatically" over the years and trout were now visiting regularly between May and November.

Northumbrian Water says its new monitors will help it improve water quality and bring wildlife back to rivers

Northumbrian Water's solar-powered monitors are about the size of a small suitcase and will cost £51m to install. It has so far installed 31 of them.

It said they measure key elements in the water every 15 minutes and its sensors are able to flag potential changes to conditions.

The water firm added that data gathered would allow it to understand the environmental impact of storm overflow events and sewage treatment works, which will help it reduce pollution.

In June, Northumbrian Water agreed to pay £15.7m after after Ofwat found failures in the maintenance and operations of its sewage and water network.

The company's failures led to "excessive spills from storm overflows", the regulator said.

Northumbrian Water's wastewater director Richard Warneford said it was "fantastic" to see wildlife returning to the rivers.

"We're very passionate about the environment, and we're really proud to be part of this project along with the communities in our region, as well as our partners," he said.