Citizen scientists to monitor English rivers in £7m scheme

Scheme gets under way as data suggests Environment Agency's own monitoring leaves rivers unprotected

Citizen scientists are being trained as the best hope to protect rivers from pollution and over-abstraction as data suggests the Environment Agency's new monitoring programme leaves waterways unprotected.

A 7m programme to set up citizen science testing in 10 river catchments across England is under way in an attempt to standardise the way volunteers carry out the monitoring.