Thames Water Blitz - Lower Windrush Valley

The 8th Thames Water Blitz took place on 26th - 29th April 2019, involving hundreds of volunteers carrying out quick and easy to use tests for phosphates and nitrates in ponds, lakes, ditches, streams and rivers across the Thames catchment.

The testing can help give a snapshot of water quality across a catchment, raise awareness about nutrient pollution and create data for use by scientists, policy makers, land managers, catchment partnerships and local communities.

LWVP volunteers tested 28 sites across the Lower Windrush, the results are summarised here:

The good news is that these results support the findings of more focused surveys coordinated by LWVP in 2016 and 2017 - lakes and ponds in the Lower Windrush Valley are an important clean water resource. Most are fed by groundwater flowing very slowly through gravel, which helps keep the water clean and free from nutrient pollution, and allow freshwater wildlife to flourish.  The bad news is that, like in most areas of lowland Britain, the majority of streams and rivers suffer serious nutrient pollution.

Full results of the Thames Water Blitz, including those from the Lower Windrush Valley, can be viewed via an interactive map on the Freshwater Watch website: https://freshwaterwatch.thewaterhub.org/totally-thames-water-blitz

Case Studies from the Lower Windrush Valley surveys conducted in 2016 and 2017 can be found on our website here: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/environment-and-planning/countryside/lower-windrush-valley-project/what-we-do