The potential for freshwater citizen science to engage and empower: a case study of the Rivers Trusts, United Kingdom

Collins, Rob; France, Anneka; Walker, Michelle; Browning, Simon

doi:10.3389/fenvs.2023.1218055

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 25 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…Even when appropriately funded, regulatory monitoring may not deliver effective monitoring to cover the spatial and temporal variability of nutrient concentrations present in most catchments (Varekar et al, 2021). With the advent and the expansion of alternative monitoring approaches, from remote sensing to citizen science, there are new opportunities to improve spatial and temporal monitoring of rivers or lakes to better understand and mitigate pollution sources (Collins et al, 2023). Numerous studies have shown that citizen science data can help identify pollution drivers and prioritize action (Loiselle et al, 2016;Thornhill et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Citizen scientists filling knowledge gaps of phosphate pollution dynamics in rural areas

Loiselle,

Bishop,

Moorhouse

et al. 2024

Environ Monit Assess

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In situ monitoring is fundamental to manage eutrophication in rivers and streams. However, in recent decades, the frequency and spatial coverage of regulatory monitoring have often been reduced due to funding and infrastructure limitations. This reduction has made it impossible to provide adequate coverage for most water bodies. In this study, trained citizen scientists filled spatial and temporal gaps in agency monitoring across a major catchment in rural England. By integrating data from citizen scientists, regulatory agencies, and the local water company, it was possible to demonstrate the opportunities for hypothesis-based citizen scientist monitoring to identify continuous and event-driven sources of phosphate pollution. Local citizen scientists effectively covered important spatial gaps, investigating river conditions both upstream and downstream of suspected pollution point sources, improving the identification of their temporal dynamics. When combined with long-term monitoring data from regulatory agencies, it became possible to identify areas within the catchment that exhibited increased phosphate concentrations during periods of low river discharge (summer). Inter-annual trends and anomaly detection suggested that continuous pollution sources dominated over event-driven sources in many sub-basins, allowing for the prioritisation of mitigation actions. This study highlights the opportunity for citizen scientists to fill gaps in regulatory monitoring efforts and contribute to the improved management of eutrophication in rural catchments.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Citizen scientists filling knowledge gaps of phosphate pollution dynamics in rural areas

Loiselle,

Bishop,

Moorhouse

et al. 2024

Environ Monit Assess

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The value of citizen science for a just and sustainable water future

Graham,

Pattinson,

Russell

et al. 2024

S. Afr. J. Sci

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Practicalities of community-led continuous water quality monitoring: lessons from Taiwan and UK pilots

Starkey,

Jones,

Ochoa-Rodriguez

et al. 2024

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Freshwater pollution is a global challenge that citizens recognise as unacceptable, despite professional efforts to monitor, manage, and regulate it. Water quality is difficult to observe at high spatial and temporal resolutions; it is costly and typically requires trained specialists in the field and in laboratories. However, the rise in citizen science monitoring has generated opportunities to overcome many barriers and fill data gaps. Citizens want access to actionable water quality information that can provide early warnings and drive change. Our bibliographic analysis emphasises that citizen science is rarely paired with the use of continuous sensors, and many monitoring schemes involving the public are unable to offer the detail required. This study has explored the practicalities and competencies associated with community-led (near) continuous water quality monitoring (CWQM), and has generated an extensive checklist containing technical, social, economic, and wider responsibilities that stakeholders should consider. The “UpStream” project has provided a testbed for this exploratory work and the development and deployment of the “WaterBox” CWQM device. Case studies from the UK and Taiwan, where community-led CWQM programmes have been piloted, have provided novel methodological insights. Lessons learnt have enabled researchers to determine whether, and to what extent, community-led CWQM is achievable in practice. Results confirm that 75% of the practicalities observed fall under the “technical” category, despite offering a social and inclusive methodology. Through observational work, it was found that only 34% of the 104 practicalities were led by community groups and community champions. Communities require significant support owing to the sheer number of technical barriers, although some of this could be provided by skilled community champions. These findings have surfaced despite the WaterBox equipment being open, accessible, cost-effective, and adaptable. Unless support is in place and/or technology significantly evolves to reduce the number of challenges, it is unlikely that communities will lead and take full ownership of CWQM programmes. Despite this, the generation of site-specific CWQM data are welcomed by citizens, who can co-design schemes, interpret trends and offer valuable local information that trained scientists cannot achieve alone. These transferable findings are relevant to monitoring initiatives across the environmental sector.

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The potential for freshwater citizen science to engage and empower: a case study of the Rivers Trusts, United Kingdom

Cited by 3 publications

References 25 publications

Citizen scientists filling knowledge gaps of phosphate pollution dynamics in rural areas

Citizen scientists filling knowledge gaps of phosphate pollution dynamics in rural areas

The value of citizen science for a just and sustainable water future

Practicalities of community-led continuous water quality monitoring: lessons from Taiwan and UK pilots

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