Worcestershire action group fears River Avon pollution

Group members kayaked along the river from Evesham and conducted three water quality tests

A campaign group set up to monitor water quality in the River Avon has said it has found consistent levels of pollution.

Volunteers from Avonvale River Action Group paddled along the river from Evesham to Pershore on Sunday as part of World Rivers Day.

Members said they recorded high phosphate levels and other pollution in tests they conducted.

They said they wanted to show how important it was to have a clean river.

"A couple of years ago it was brought to my attention that a few people had become sick having swum in the [Avon]," Louise Bugg, from the group, said.

Campaigner Louise Bugg said she enjoyed the river but was worried for its future

She explained: "We've got a local angling club that found fish had disappeared from the river in November and they'd started this process of testing, and found that the water quality was extremely poor."

She said her team then took three samples on Sunday as they paddled and got "very consistent" results on high phosphate levels, which she said had been raised over the past two years since their testing began.

Phosphates are naturally occurring minerals found in human and animal waste which aid growth of plants but can lead to a dramatic growth in algae, depleting oxygen levels when in large quantities.

Paddling in kayaks meant the group was also able to get a clearer view of sewage outlets going into the river rather than seeing them from the riverbank, Ms Bugg said.

"[The water] is not ok" - Andy Hammerton

Water companies are allowed to release sewage after rain to prevent it overwhelming the system and backing up into people's homes.

But campaigners and opposition MPs have called for action on sewage spills after a BBC News investigation in September suggested three major water companies illegally discharged sewage hundreds of times in 2022 on dry days.

"The misconception is that because the water's clear, it must be ok, and it's not ok," said Andy Hammerton, an action group member from the Angling Trust.

"We found quite high pollution rates in the electrical conductivity which is the suspended solids in the water."

The group, which wants to put pressure on the Environment Agency and water companies, is being supported by councillors.

Angie Crump, Liberal Democrat councillor with Wychavon District Council, said a lot of fish had been lost and regular testing was needed.

"There's far too much sewage going into the river, it's not being monitored."

The Environment Agency said it took issues about sewage discharge extremely seriously and had "significantly driven up monitoring and transparency from water companies in recent years".

Members of the public were encouraged to report suspected pollution incidents and data from local groups to assist the body's own monitoring, it added.

"Citizen science initiatives provide invaluable data about our water environment, complementing our own monitoring and assessment work and enabling a greater understanding of the issues we face and how we can work with others to enable change going forward," a spokesperson said.

Councillor Angie Crump said sewage levels had killed off a lot of fish