Early warning system to safeguard Somerset water quality

Water quality problems could be detected early in three Somerset rivers thanks to the installation of special monitoring stations.

Funded by the Environment Agency, the stations will automatically monitor dissolved oxygen levels, which can fluctuate following algal blooms or pollution and cause sudden fish deaths.

Environment protection officer Matthew Sully said that the monitoring sites are a major improvement to the waterways and should give the agency a much better understanding of river conditions at any time.

"We've started with the most vulnerable sites where fish have been killed in the past," he stated.

Mr Sully added that if the pilot project is successful, the organisation plans to install more stations to create a network of sites across the Somerset Levels.

Until recently, officials were operating blindly because they did not have the necessary monitoring capability and could not detect problems until dead or distressed fish started appearing in a river, he continued.

Written by Joseph Hutton