Rushcliffe MP, Ruth Edwards, tried her hand at paddleboarding on Thursday when she joined Planet Patrol’s Lizzie Carr, to clear litter from the banks of the Trent and test the water quality of the river.
Planet Patrol is a global network of citizen scientists dedicated to monitoring and improving water quality.
Ruth and Lizzie started in the shadow of Trent Bridge stadium and scoured the bank for rubbish of all shapes and sizes. Among the bottles, packets and tins, they came across an extraordinary discovery; a framed print entitled ‘Summer at Trent Bridge’. This has been fished out, dried out, re-framed and will hang on the wall of Ruth’s constituency office in Rectory Road.
Safely back on dry land, Lizzie showed Ruth how to use Planet Patrol’s water quality testing kit, that volunteers can use on the riverbank.
As well as collecting litter and testing water quality, Ruth and Lizzie discussed Planet Patrol’s “Race for Rivers” campaign which launches today.
Participants on paddleboards will use sampling kits to test water quality every 5km, collecting more than 750 readings from across the country. These will be recorded in the Planet Patrol app and give a better picture of water quality across the country. If you want to join in the ‘Race for Rivers’ campaign, you can do so here.
Ruth wanted to highlight the importance of water quality and to keep up the pressure to improve rivers and waterways across the UK. Earlier this year, she met with the Environment Agency for an update on their work to improve the quality of rivers across the East Midlands. Currently, 21 rivers in the region have a ‘good’ ecological rating, while the Trent only received a ‘moderate’.
Although the number of serious pollution incidents from water companies has declined by 92% over the last 30 years, there is still far more work to do.
Ruth has welcomed yesterday’s commitment by the Government to double funding for nature-based solutions to reduce water pollution. She also welcomed the announcement of new laws which will force water companies to upgrade their wastewater treatment works to the highest technical standards. The Government is also providing a further £200 million in grants to improve slurry infrastructure which will help reduce runoff from agricultural land, a major cause of river pollution.
These measures build on the £56 billion of investment to upgrade existing infrastructure and new laws to scrap the cap on civil fines for water companies who pollute our rivers and seas.
Ruth said:
“I want to say a massive thank you to Lizzie for taking me out on the Trent and showing me first-hand some of the vital work that Planet Patrol do, both recording and removing litter and analysing the chemistry of the water in a simple way that anyone can do.
Water quality is incredibly important, and I will continue to make the case for this in Westminster. It was the first time I’d tried paddle boarding and I loved it. If I can stay on the board, anyone can so please do check out Planet Patrol’s Race for Rivers and get involved.”
Lizzie Carr said: “The problems we face with poor water quality and litter pollution across our waterways are magnified when you’re on paddleboards, so having the opportunity to take Ruth out on the water to show her, first-hand, the problem we’re facing – but also the solutions we have developed to help address it – is a positive step forward.”
