Helping Sustain our Village Community + Working Creatively to Tackle the Challenge of Climate Change
Update March 2025
From February 2025, IWTG have been testing further along the Armscote Road rather than at Cross Leys. This is so we can obtain a comparison between the readings immediately after the water treatment works and further down the brook to measure the impact of the brook diluting the outflow from the water works. The testing site just after the water works has always yielded high phosphate levels. Our initial testing kit only measured levels up to 2.5 so we have invested in a high range phosphate kit and have obtained levels as high as 7.9 to date.
The Safe Avon project is measuring phosphates, nitrates and electrical conductivity because:
Phosphate Excessive phosphorus in rivers can cause growth of aquatic plants and algae which leads to water-quality problems, including low dissolved oxygen concentrations, which can harm aquatic life. It is a good measure of sewage pollution.
Nitrate High levels of nitrate in water can be a result of runoff or leakage from fertilized soil, wastewater / sewage, landfills, septic systems, or urban drainage.
Electrical Conductivity (EC): depends on the impurities in the water and is affected by
temperature. When an increase or decrease is detected it can indicate pollutants, affecting the quality of the water.
The graphs on this page show the data collected by IWTG up to the end of February 2025 and the average nitrate and phosphate levels measured in the Rivers Avon and Stour over one year 2023 – 2024. We have also included an information visual to help explain what levels are considered healthy.
