Letting science do the talking on water quality
What impacts bathing water quality and how can we work together to improve our rivers and seas? Independent scientists answer your burning questions.
From animal waste to littering and storm overflow releases, bathing water quality is impacted by so many different things. This month we caught up with two scientists to bust some myths and find out more about the science behind bathing water quality.
On the panel, Dr Julie Kinzelman, a leading expert on coastal water quality assessments and restoration at the Great Lakes of North America. She was also joined by Dr Kathy Pond, an Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Enginering and lead contact for the World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre for the Protection of Water Quality and Human Health.
Chaired by our Environmental Director, Dr Nick Mills, the panel of experts tackled the challenging topic head on before answering live questions from campaigners, stakeholders and the press.
It was agreed that unfortunately, we can’t wipe away pollution and contamination along our coastline overnight. But what the scientists did discuss is how pollution is rarely caused by one single factor.
What does the science say?
During the webinar panellists spoke about:
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The impact of animal waste. As noted by Dr Julie Kinzelman, animal waste has a significant role to play in influencing water quality and posing a risk to human health.
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Seaweed. Planting boulders along the coast to prevent bottom trawlijng has been brilliantly successful at regrowing biodiverse kelp forests. But when wind and tidal scour washes up large quantities it can be a major problem.
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Collaboration for solutions. To manage the impact all the factors have on our rivers and seas, we need to continue to work together with communities, citizen scientists, universities and government agencies to address pollution sources.
How can we improve bathing water quality?
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Improved data. Better data is needed such as more sampling to allow us to take a science led approach to working on the problem.
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Systems approach. At the University of Surrey, Dr Pond uses a systems approach to analyse pollution sources. Her method layers data to assess their impact and identify those that have the largest impact.
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Restoration plans: Dr Kinzelman discusses developing restoration plans by eliminating sources of pollution and managing beaches to keep them clean based on data collected from water assessments. These plans aim to improve water quality and address the causes of pollution in a targeted way.
We were extremely grateful to be joined by Dr Kinzelman and Dr Pond, as we continue to work with partners across all sectors to protect and enhance our rivers and seas.
You can watch the full webinar HERE