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We're undertaking a major, long-term programme to install continuous water quality monitors on every watercourse with discharges.
River quality is influenced by many factors, including rainfall, land use and seasonal change. Continuous monitoring helps us understand patterns and trends over time. We’re improving continuous river quality with monitoring across our region to build a clearer picture of river health. By monitoring rivers at different points and using clear, consistent and scientifically robust data, we can track how river conditions change.
This programme forms a central part of our wider commitment to improving and protecting river health. By investing in long-term monitoring, increasing transparency, and building a stronger evidence base, we aim to support healthier rivers for wildlife, communities and future generations.
How the monitoring works
As part of this programme, we’re developing a network of monitors that measure river quality both upstream and downstream of our discharge points. Monitoring upstream helps us understand the background condition of a river before it reaches one of our discharge points. Monitoring downstream allows us to see any changes after passing one of our discharge points. By comparing these two sets of data, we can build a more complete and transparent picture of river performance over time.
What we measure
Each monitor is installed in a fixed position within the river and includes equipment that automatically records and transmits data at regular intervals. Together, these measurements help us understand how rivers respond to changing conditions. We monitor a range of key river quality indicators, including:
- Dissolved Oxygen – an essential indicator of river health, as aquatic life depends on sufficient oxygen levels.
- Turbidity – a measure of how clear or silty the water is, which can affect habitats and light penetration.
- Ammonia – elevated levels can be harmful to fish and invertebrates and are closely monitored in wastewater treatment.
- Temperature – influences chemical reactions and biological activity in the river.
- pH Level – indicates how acidic or alkaline the water is, which affects species survival and chemical balance.
Taken together, these measurements help us build a clearer picture of river quality. They don’t tell the whole story on their own, but they provide important insight alongside weather patterns, seasonal change and other environmental factors.
What you’ll start to see locally
Installation has already begun, and you may start to notice small monitoring kiosks (as shown on this page) appearing near local watercourses. These house the equipment and communications systems that support continuous river quality monitoring.
Making sure the data is right
Building a large, complex river quality monitoring network takes time and care. Before any data is shared publicly, we need to be confident it's accurate, reliable and resilient across a wide range of river conditions.
During the testing and validation phase, the monitoring equipment is run and assessed in different environments. Including high and low river flows, seasonal temperature changes and other environmental factors. This allows us to fine‑tune the system and make sure the data is robust and consistent.
We expect to begin publishing validated data from these monitors from 2030.
Sharing data openly
Over time, data collected through this programme will be made publicly available via an online dashboard, which will be updated daily. Our aim is to provide open, accessible information so communities, regulators and environmental groups can see river conditions with appropriate context. By sharing data openly, we want to support informed conversations about river health and how it can be improved.
The appearance of a kiosk shows that monitoring infrastructure is being put in place, but it doesn’t mean data is available yet. Information will only be shared once testing and validation are complete, so that what we publish is reliable and meaningful.
When fully established, the programme will include around 500 monitoring sites across rivers throughout our region, providing extensive coverage to support long‑term river quality monitoring.