New Factsheet on Mitigating agricultural impacts on water quality in the East Devon Catchment, UK
This publication explores the water quality challenges affecting rivers in East Devon, where only one in five rivers in the West Country meet the ecological standards set by the Water Framework Directive. Most failures are linked to pollution from agriculture and sewage.
The case study focuses on two river catchments — the River Axe and the River Creedy — where environmental pressures affect protected systems such as the River Exe Drinking Water Protected Area and the River Axe Special Area of Conservation.
The factsheet highlights challenges in identifying sources of diffuse pollution and integrating citizen science data into regulatory frameworks. It also showcases ongoing efforts including volunteer water quality monitoring with over 100 citizen scientists, collaboration through the East Devon Catchment Partnership, and the use of remote sensing and machine learning to strengthen environmental monitoring.
