Banter 25: Earthwatch Fresh Water, 26Jun24, Sam Frith
Sam takes us through the work of the Fresh Water project in the UK, and shows how that ties in with Earthwatch work worldwide. She shows sample collection and analysis, and invites all to join in
00:27:37 Jacky Lawrence, Napton PC Climate and Environment Working Party: Is the move to bamboo toilet paper away from wood pulp - an improvement or worse?
00:29:01 John Fagan: Great talk, thanks… gotta dash!
00:29:55 Wendy Thomson: I stopped using main brand household products about 13 years ago and use more natural ones setting up a cleaning business using my own brand WendyGoesGreen. Just a bit of a plug. Have my own brand washing powder as well. www.wendygoesgreen.co.uk
00:31:12 mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: You mentioned that it was sometimes a struggle to keep people involved. We approached this in Hay on Wye by being very political. Here are the KPI’s we use:
00:31:24 mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: The New KPI’s - Marketing and Motivation: Keep people interested Keep People Informed Keep people involved Keep People Inspired
00:31:48 John Payne: We live beside the Wye. Is there anyway we can monitor the river colour/ properties on a daily basis to inform and raise public awareness by posting on a group chat
00:32:13 mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: Here is pour latest Use of this:
00:32:28 mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: “THE HAY WARREN GETS PROTECTED BATHING STATUS
A section of the River Wye popular with wild-swimmers is to be granted official bathing water status in a Welsh government U-turn. CONGRATULATIONS to Friends of the Upper Wye, Friends of the Wye, Save the Wye, and all those taking-on the biggest industrial agricultural polluter on the Planet - Cargill/Avara.
00:32:41 mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: SHAME ON those three sitting Conservative MPs, FAY JONES - JESSE NORMAN - BILL WIGGIN (The Blue Knight) - who on 20 October 2021:
FAILED to vote in a motion requiring water companies to dump less raw Sewerage into our Waterways;
FAILED to vote to improve Sewerage Systems
FAILED to vote to require a reduction in untreated Sewerage dumping in our Rivers.
00:32:53 mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: These three Conservative MPs have sat back and allowed the proliferation of massively cruel and polluting Chicken Factories in Herefordshire and Powys -
where we “produce” 7 “crops” of 21 million chickens every 42 days in our beautiful farming countryside.
00:44:35 John Payne: We are actively involved with making people aware of the activities of Noble Foods who have a large Feed mil in the Forest of Dean supplying the IPUs along the River Wye.
00:46:48 Jacky Lawrence, Napton PC Climate and Environment Working Party: Warwickshire ws third worst Great-UK-WaterBlitz-report_June-2024_DIGITAL-SPREADS-1.pdf (earthwatch.org.uk)
00:47:17 mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: Reacted to "We are actively invo..." with 👍
00:49:31 John Payne: Replying to "We live beside the W…" Thanks, we went to Abergavenny XR group last night as they were starting the Dirty Waters initiative
00:49:41 tristram cary: Thank you Sam, that was very interesting. I need to leave now.
01:00:32 mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: Replying to "We live beside the W..."
The Dirty Water Campaign began with a brilliant “Blue Plaque” campaign where every MP who failed to vote /or voted for pollution or didn’t do anything to stop pollution - had Blue Plaques printed up giving the date they voted ..
01:04:30 John Payne: Replying to "We live beside the W…" Angela Jones took it with her to the Restore Nature Now March in London last Saturday. She also brought it into the TV studio in Cardiff on Friday and enraged David TC Davies!
01:04:42 Kirsten Newble: Thank you so much Sam. Really informative.
01:05:07 mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: Reacted to "Angela Jones took it..." with 👍
WEBVTT
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Sam Frith: Hello, Graham.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Howdy! How are you.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: hey, Walt?
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Of.
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Sam Frith: Like you are in a vehicle.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: I'm in a taxi racing to
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tristram cary: Hello, Sam!
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Around, eldest sister.
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Sam Frith: On!
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Tristan, let me just make you the the co-host.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: so that you have charged this.
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tristram cary: Yeah, I'm not sure I know what to do. Because is it recording.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Yes.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: So if if you need to silence people, that's all.
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tristram cary: Yeah, okay.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: All right, your.
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tristram cary: You're you're you're in a taxi, going to
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tristram cary: getting to the area.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: I'm going to Al Wilson, but I'm going to hold the meeting from his dining room and.
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tristram cary: Alright, brilliant.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: And
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: I'm also on an extremely flat battery, so I may disappear any second.
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Sam Frith: You like living life on the edge.
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tristram cary: Does.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: I had to go over to the submarine museum this morning to pick up a coach, and inevitably the ferry was late. So now I'm late, and
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: who knows?
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tristram cary: Are you around? On the 12th of July? Graham.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: I saw your note and can we chat about that this afternoon because I'm gonna be in hopefully somewhere in the Azores by then.
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tristram cary: Okay. So the answer is, No.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Well, actually, we will probably be alongside. So the answer is probably Yes.
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tristram cary: Cause. It's it's been suggested as a date for our first.st Simon led
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tristram cary: inside me. Sleep.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Well, I I think it absolutely better for me to be coming in from a tropical island in the middle of sunshine and gorgeousness, while you're all sitting in the July rain and snow.
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tristram cary: Yeah, yeah.
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tristram cary: And I. But I wanted to know you were happy for it to sort of take over one of your user group sessions, and and be run by Simon.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Very very very welcome, very welcome.
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tristram cary: I think that's very good
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tristram cary: morning, Stuart.
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Stuart Withington: Morning. Tristan
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Stuart Withington: is grave. Oh, no, grave is there.
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tristram cary: Graham's there in a car, living life on the edge sounds very.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: James about to depart to go and say hello to his host, so I'll catch you guys up later.
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tristram cary: Okay.
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Stuart Withington: Okay? Bye.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Bye, Sam, good luck.
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Sam Frith: Bye. Thank you.
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tristram cary: So, Sam, how long have you been doing Earthwatch.
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Sam Frith: So officially. I've been Earth watching for 3 months.
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Sam Frith: but I've been citizen sciencing since September 22.
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tristram cary: Oh, great, brilliant!
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tristram cary: Because, as as luck would have it, or yesterday I had a meeting with a council who's trying to in in Somerset, and they're trying to make a baseline of their ecological sort of status. And and what.
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Sam Frith: Hike!
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tristram cary: And we were we were talking about. You know. How on earth do you do that? And and where do you get the advice from and all that stuff. And we mentioned he's been using citizens to go out and try to spot pyramid orchids and things.
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Sam Frith: Aye, but.
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tristram cary: So it's so what? So that's very timely what you're going to talk about.
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Sam Frith: Good, good. Well, hopefully, I can inspire. Obviously, I'm water based. But I mean goodness and science is so important for every subject, you know, like whether it's counting flowers, butterflies?
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Sam Frith: Anything really.
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tristram cary: Isn't.
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Stuart Withington: They refer bio blitz.
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tristram cary: Sorry, Stuart.
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Sam Frith: Say against Stuart.
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Stuart Withington: Is this the same as a bio blitz.
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Sam Frith: So we call them water blitzes. So we we provide them with a scientific kit, which I'll explain. And yeah, they go out and collect data. And then we can analyze that.
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Stuart Withington: There, there! There is a bioplit network, isn't there? Across the country.
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Sam Frith: Oh, I don't know.
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tristram cary: I've never even heard of Bible, I'm ashamed to say.
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Stuart Withington: i i i think that there, there's a national sort of coordinating network, and maybe contact them. They'll give you out crib sheets
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Stuart Withington: on how to set about doing it.
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Jacky Lawrence, Napton PC Climate and Environment Working Party: By a blitz in the local churchyard.
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Jacky Lawrence, Napton PC Climate and Environment Working Party: And we did water. Blitz.
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Stuart Withington: Swimming, isn't it?
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tristram cary: The time still of minutes ago, I think.
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tristram cary: Yeah, but they the Jane. Well, no, I guess the challenge is getting people to continue to work on it. I can imagine people start with a lot of enthusiasm, but everywhere seems to be very time poor and busy these days.
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Sam Frith: Keeping.
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Stuart Withington: You.
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Sam Frith: Asia. Not?
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Sam Frith: Yeah. Keep keeping. Motivation can be hard. But generally I try and do it with coffee and cake.
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Kirsten Newble: That works for everything. I do that on so many volunteer things.
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tristram cary: Yeah, yeah, we do it for the dish picking. We only come because there's a bacon buttty at the end.
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Sam Frith: Winner every time.
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Sam Frith: So think
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Sam Frith: who
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tristram cary: And so do you, Sam, do you collate the data across
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tristram cary: the country to produce sort of national views of things in in Earthword?
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Sam Frith: So so as Earth watch, we have just done the great Uk water blitz
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Sam Frith: where we had whatever 1,000 sets of data which we've been able to coordinate. And actually, we've just released yesterday. So yesterday, for the results of that.
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Sam Frith: just to, you know, evidence
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Sam Frith: mainly because the environment agency has been so poor at monitoring the rivers for themselves. Over the years we've been able to use the citizen science data to actually go out and and collect later ourselves and then collaborate, you know, coordinate that with with that data.
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Sam Frith: Yeah, it's it's
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Sam Frith: as I'll explain. You know, it's scientific data. And we use it. And and it can be powerful. We just need to make sure the environment agency are willing to listen.
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tristram cary: And I guess I'm sure you're going to tell us. But I guess you have to make sure that everybody's collecting the same data on on a sort of consistent way of, or.
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Sam Frith: Yes, consistency is very important.
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tristram cary: Now.
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tristram cary: Okay.
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tristram cary: I don't know how I know more people come in, but we seem to have very few at the moment.
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tristram cary: but I think we should. We're waiting for Graham, who's who's in a car? Trying to get somewhere and is late. But I suggest we start.
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tristram cary: So, Sam. We're very grateful for you to come and talk to us. Sam's from Earth watch, and she's going to tell us about citizen science and how we can all get involved.
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tristram cary: So Sam, over to you, and and when you finish your presentation, then we'll have questions and answers.
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Sam Frith: Yeah, fabulous. Well, I'm I'm gonna keep it fairly informal. I apologize for my terrible presentation. It's thrown together, and the last hour, admittedly. But hopefully, it'll just inspire you to find out what we're doing and maybe get involved. And I.
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tristram cary: Can you share? So I'm not an expert on Zoom. Can you? Can you share your screen so that we can see your presentation.
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Sam Frith: I am just about to try and figure out how to do that.
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tristram cary: Included.
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Sam Frith: Not used zoom.
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Sam Frith: Powerpoint, as.
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Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: If you go down to the bottom of the screen, it says, share screen.
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Sam Frith: La
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Sam Frith: Green, or documents were advanced. This is Show Powerpoint as background. We show Powerpoint, as
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Sam Frith: this is where I should have done this beforehand.
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tristram cary: Just try it and see. I've as far as I can see, I've given you permission to do it.
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Sam Frith: Oh, Fab!
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John Fagan: It. I-,
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John Fagan: you need to. Yeah, you don't need to do advance. Just go on screens. And the are your one monitor, one screen.
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Sam Frith: Yeah, just in the long.
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John Fagan: Yeah. So then just share your whole desktop. And that's the easiest. Not on advanced. Yeah.
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tristram cary: Thank you, John. Great to have an expert in the room.
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John Fagan: No electrician.
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Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: And we see all your secrets.
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Sam Frith: Honestly, I had to close everything on my computer yesterday I had so much open
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Sam Frith: as desktop.
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tristram cary: Yes, Graham's joined us. Huh?
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Sam Frith: There go. He might. Okay, share entire screen.
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Sam Frith: Yeah.
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tristram cary: That's it! Hooray! Hold on!
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Sam Frith: If I go to.
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tristram cary: Perfect.
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Sam Frith: That one.
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Sam Frith: and then do it as
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Sam Frith: do do. How can I just do it as a.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Up to the top, where it says, Slideshow ray.
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Sam Frith: Oh! The.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Yep.
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Sam Frith: From beginning.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Yep.
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Sam Frith: We go? Can everyone see?
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: I spat on.
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tristram cary: Perfect.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: You're gonna take.
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Sam Frith: Like that's. Yes.
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Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Yeah. Thanks. Bye.
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Sam Frith: Okay. Well, I'm
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Sam Frith: I tell you. What I then can't see is, I can't see all my cheeky little notes I made alongside it.
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John Fagan: Yeah, that won't be possible unless you have 2 screens.
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Sam Frith: Oh, there we go! I'm learning every day.
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Sam Frith: So what I could do then is.
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Sam Frith: can I just show you it's not gonna be very.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: What you can do is pull it up on your phone, Sam.
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Sam Frith: Oh, I've not been that organized Graham.
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tristram cary: Sam, you could also show.
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Sam Frith: So used to wearing using teams. Zoom.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: But you mean.
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Sam Frith: He's thrown me.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Notes all, and we'll just see the notes with you.
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Sam Frith: Yeah, let's do that. How can I do
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Sam Frith: you just get it.
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John Fagan: Then hit excuse.
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tristram cary: There are. That's fine. There are, that's perfect.
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Sam Frith: Bad. Okay, so I'm going to move your
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Sam Frith: lovely faces all over to one side so I can see it. I'm so sorry. So
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Sam Frith: let's start from the beginning.
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Sam Frith: Move my little notes down.
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Sam Frith: I need 2 screens to this. So I'm from Earth watch and I'm part of the Fresh Water Watch program. Earthwatch is an environmental charity with science at our heart. And each program we're aiming to connect people with nature. There's a huge amount of disconnection we we find.
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Sam Frith: You know. Now, everyone's working at home and constantly looking at screens. It's really nice to give people the opportunity to go out, connect with Nature and and see what they've been missing, or even just notice. You know what is now missing, that that might have been there when they were younger as children.
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Sam Frith: So we're looking to connect people so that they can
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Sam Frith: then use their data that they collect
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Sam Frith: to empower and facilitate change, whether it's
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Sam Frith: as as themselves and their behaviour or event.
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Sam Frith: and and can use their data scientifically, or or send that and make policy change for local councils as well.
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Sam Frith: So as fresh water watch we we've been collecting
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Sam Frith: globally for for over 10 years now. Scientifically based. We've we've used it to write over 40 scientific
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Sam Frith: and documents.
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Sam Frith: And yes, it's
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Sam Frith: globally is accepted by most equivalent of environment agencies around the world. Unfortunately, the minute England is the only place where the environment agency is is reluctant to use our data, which is a shame. But it is something we're pushing for, especially with the events happening in the next few weeks. We're gonna see what changes we can push for. And
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Sam Frith: then we've got that data. We can use that data. It's not disappeared. It won't go out to date. We can now use that
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Sam Frith: to to help make change.
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Sam Frith: So the things that we are looking for.
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Sam Frith: I can now.
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Sam Frith: Oh, sorry. I'm picking buttons.
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Sam Frith: So the things we're looking for when we're collecting data. Is your location, your body type. So because we're fresh water, we can only do rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds. We struggle. Our test kits struggle with anything with saline in it. So if it's
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Sam Frith: a tidal river.
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Sam Frith: especially by Estrus or by the coast, our our kids will struggle with that, so generally stick to fresh water.
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Sam Frith: We're looking at turbidity. So how clear is the water? That tells us quite a lot about the the health of the river, how much light gets down to the plants at the bottom, or how much like, you know creatures living in the in the river can can
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Sam Frith: C.
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Sam Frith: Turbidity also affects fish life, and we find that if it's really poor clarity of water fish become less resistant to disease. Their egg larvae isn't as successful at hatching either.
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Sam Frith: and watercolour plays plays a part in this.
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Sam Frith: We also ask, during testing, to do more general observations, we're looking at plant life, animal life. Have you seen a kingfisher. Have you seen a fish? And we get a little celebration when we do see a fish and signs of pollution? We also look for as well, you know, as a litter in the river, on the water around. And has it come from, you know, fly tipping? Or is it just recreational? And someone who's just been lazy and toss something in the river instead of the bin.
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Sam Frith: We're looking at the land use around where your testing site will be as well.
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Sam Frith: Is it agriculture? Is it commercial?
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Sam Frith: is that? Is there a pipe that's flowing into and contributing to that pollution?
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Sam Frith: And obviously we're going to be testing for nutrient pollution. So your nitrates and your phosphates
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Sam Frith: and although nitrates and phosphates themselves are not dangerous to humans, it we definitely use them as evidence of other things that we potentially in the water.
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Sam Frith: So you know, when you've got large amounts of phosphates, we'll be looking at sewage just because of a way that human process
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Sam Frith: as phosphates.
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Sam Frith: Not only is our drink water by the water companies to protect us from the water in the pipes, we as humans, it's a byproduct of us, and we produce even more phosphates. And by the time it gets to a sewage treatment works most of the time. Those phosphates are then not stripped out, that water before them being released back into the environment.
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Sam Frith: So when we see high phosphates, we are generally pointing more towards
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Sam Frith: sewage pollution nitrates. Again, it does come proportionally from sewage treatment works. But then we're looking more towards Africa. And
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Sam Frith: now, as we said earlier consistency is key. When we're taking these, when we taking these samples, we've got to make sure that our citizen scientists are trained so that we're going to be using the same method exactly the same time every time using standardized equipment.
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Sam Frith: and again
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Sam Frith: trying to make sure that your general observations are all going to be looking the same thing, and we're all singing from the same song sheet, as it were.
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Sam Frith: and same sort of descriptive consistency. So we all understand what brown water is. We all understand how to measure that that turbidity in the water.
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Sam Frith: Other things that we look for when we're testing are
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Sam Frith: algae, you know, is, is there an oily sheen on the water that could be leading more towards road runoff pollution. So from cars or leaky oil drips on cars.
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Sam Frith: or petrol stations stuff like that.
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Sam Frith: And then algae gives us a good idea of
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Sam Frith: the nutrient levels as well. The the more nutrients in the water, the more that the algae can feed on it, and then it just grows and grows blocking out lights, and then starting the cause of many of the issues that we're seeing.
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Sam Frith: Your water colour plays a part as well, green. You're looking more towards nutrient pollution. You know. There's more algae brown would be pointing more towards maybe runoff from a farmer's field. And you've just got high sediment levels there.
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Sam Frith: If you're looking at white and gray.
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Sam Frith: It's sort of more of a warning sign towards pollution of sewage and and we generally warn people if it's grey or or milky. Just take extra care
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Sam Frith: and then the the results will speak for themselves
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Sam Frith: in terms of collecting.
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Sam Frith: What we do is, we ask you, just to
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Sam Frith: test a sample of water
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Sam Frith: in the cup that you can see on the screen. There's a line halfway around it.
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Sam Frith: and that collects 1.5 milliliters of water exactly
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Sam Frith: in the tubes that you get. You have a set amount of reactant in there as well.
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Sam Frith: Be just a white powder which will then react and turn it all purple for phosphates. So as long as you've got the correct amount of water being completely sucked up into the tube that will give you a scientific
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Sam Frith: number and and result of of how high that nitrate and phosphate is.
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Sam Frith: We also got a little disc in the bottom right corner is a Seci disc, and that's how we measure our turbidity, our clarity of the water.
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Sam Frith: we provide our scientists with a long, clear tube, and they fill it up as much as they can until it reaches a set amount of a set number on the side of the tube.
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Sam Frith: so the higher the the water level, the lower the number.
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Sam Frith: so 14 is at the top, and then 2, 40 is at the bottom. That when we then match it with our nitrates and phosphate results, and the other general observations will give you the results of your
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Sam Frith: level of health in the river.
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Sam Frith: So these are the color cards. So after 3 min and 5 min these are the colors that your tubes will will turn, and you just run it up the color chart
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Sam Frith: till it sits between 2 colours.
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Sam Frith: we go between sort of 0 point 2 on one all the way up to 10 on nitrate. It's not point naught. 2 on phosphates at the bottom all the way up to one.
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Sam Frith: and we've sort of
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Sam Frith: We've arranged it so that this is going to be showing you evidence of low, nutrient pollution sort of results
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Sam Frith: when you get them in this area. You know, we're we're fairly happy with that. Nutrients are a natural thing we will find them, and at this level that they're fine, and shouldn't be causing too much harm
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Sam Frith: to your freshwater body
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Sam Frith: if we're going into the middle section.
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Sam Frith: there's definitely evidence of nutrient pollution there.
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Sam Frith: if you're finding that occasionally, you know, and and sometimes it then drops back down to the 1st section.
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Sam Frith: Then, you know, we'll we'll still say, probably you're you're okay. But once we start getting into that 3rd section, your fives and tens on nitrates, and you're not point fives and one on phosphates. You're you're looking at high, you know, high nutrient pollution levels there, and those on a consistent basis, month after month
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Sam Frith: your waterways in trouble. But there's a reason, and and we can go in and investigate and find out why
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Sam Frith: using our maps. All of your data, then gets uplight analyzed and uploaded onto our virtual map. You can filter this by dates with you, then want to look at nitrate. So just phosphates, or your turbidity levels, and we measure on a green amber and red light.
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Sam Frith: words escaped me.
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Sam Frith: So green being good amber being, you know.
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Sam Frith: average moderate red being high. You've got high nutrient pollutions there, and it's in a poor ecological status.
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Sam Frith: This map has been taken from one of our bigger group catchment areas which is in like river even load. So running from Morton and Marsh on the top top. West top left that all the way down to Oxford in in the bottom corner.
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Sam Frith: We've got
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Sam Frith: nearly 2,000 samples have been collected over the the past of 8 years or so by citizen scientists. They go out on the second Sunday of every month.
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Sam Frith: We'll taste the same site again and again, and we can. Then look at those data, look at those little clumps, and if it's been green, green, green, green for 3 months, and suddenly we get a red.
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Sam Frith: There's been an issue.
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Sam Frith: whether if by sewage treatment works, whether they've then sort of released a whole load of raw sewage.
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Sam Frith: or whether a farmers spread. And it just it gives us that
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Sam Frith: tool to be able to see if something's gone wrong.
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Sam Frith: Other citizen scientists, programs that we, a lot of our citizen scientists actually take part in are river fly counts. River flies are the little bugs that live in the rivers. So you've got your mayfly caddisfly stone fly, and each of these species gives you an idea of how healthy the river is.
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Sam Frith: They each have their own
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Sam Frith: I guess, level of pollution, tolerance. So mayflies are quite delicate. If there's too much phosphate in the water, and actually they really struggle to attach their eggs onto the stones. They sort of use a glue to attach their eggs onto the bottom of the river, and if there's too much phosphate, that glue just doesn't stick, and the tide just, and the current just takes the eggs away.
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Sam Frith: Then reducing the population.
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Sam Frith: They're like the canaries of the river, so if there's no river flies.
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Sam Frith: the river is in real trouble, but if you've got an abundance, and it just means that the health of the river's been there. The populations have been allowed to grow
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Sam Frith: we've also supplied them priority habitats training. And so if we go out and we do water vole surveys as well, which is quite fun on the even load. Especially, we thought water voles were extinct and had been for many years. And we suddenly got an email last month. Going, guys, is this? Is this a water vole so excited to see this one little
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Sam Frith: rodent just munching on grass on the side of the river? And yeah, we're we're now sort of raised that awareness. And I'm constantly getting a feed of oh, my goodness, yeah, I thought it was a wrap. But it's actually a vole.
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Sam Frith: so
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Sam Frith: in terms of things that we can do. Obviously, we've we've talked about the citizen scientists, data that you can collect for the freshwater watch program
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Sam Frith: and
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Sam Frith: but little things that you can do which don't involve training and don't involve going out every month and collecting data. And and
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Sam Frith: that long term commitment is just switching to river friendly plant based cleaning products. I don't know if you've ever read the back of a ferry washing up liquid bottle, you know, and toilet duck as well. There's there's just so many you can go into a supermarket, turn around the bottle and read. This product is harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects.
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Sam Frith: Now, the reason this is so important is because many of our sewage treatment works don't take product out during that treatment process. All they're doing from my lovely picture on the left there is taking out anything that is 6 or larger.
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Sam Frith: So we're talking wet wipes. We're talking kitchen roll plastics, sanitary products.
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Sam Frith: anything that that's not going to break down I mean many of the the toilet papers as well. They're so thick.
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Sam Frith: But because the pipes, the gravity fed and going to the sewage treatment works, they're still arriving at the sewage treatment works in one big large clump.
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Sam Frith: So just being aware of what you're putting down down the toilet, what you're putting down the drains
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Sam Frith: is is going to help the rivers massively
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Sam Frith: and your water consumption as well. One of the reasons that is contributing to the the sewage spills we're having. Is it just not the capacity in these sewage treatment works to be able to treat all of us when we have a shower exactly the same time, 7 or 8 o'clock in the morning, or all flush or lose at the same time, or
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Sam Frith: especially during wet weather. Then sort of maybe turn on our washing machines.
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Sam Frith: And the general statistic at the minute is that as an individual, we are using about 146 litres of fresh water per day per person.
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Sam Frith: which is quite a lot, is is globally. We're one of the highest consumers of fresh water.
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Sam Frith: So if we can protect this resource, use a bit less water. Not only will it stop, you know, the the sewage release. Being such a poor quality, but actually there is, there is concern of of
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Sam Frith: fresh water
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Sam Frith: availability in the years to come. You know our population is growing so much. Our water companies haven't been upgrading that infrastructure to be able to treat it quickly enough. Climate change and with the pollution of rivers as well, our reservoirs, even the wettest winter on record, are not being able to be filled up because the pollution is just too high in Rivers to fill the reservoirs up.
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Sam Frith: So I'm aware that I spoke quite quickly through that, and I'm very sorry. But hopefully, I gave you a really good idea of of what it do, what we try to achieve.
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Sam Frith: and I'm happy to answer any questions that you might have.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Oops, Sam, that's really fabulous. Thank you, and thank you so much for your time, and for very, so intriguing in the stuff you're giving us?
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: There's a bunch of questions in the chat.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Are you able to see the chat from? Where are you? If you'd like to start with those, and then we'll go to the people who actually wish to ask live questions.
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Sam Frith: So the top I've got one from.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: India think? Was it.
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Sam Frith: So Wendy, does this include canals? As well? Yeah, definitely, this is fresh water. It's all part of that sort of ecosystem.
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Sam Frith: You know, fish, birds, insects, everything still rely on canals as a as fresh water as a as a home. So it's really important that we're looking after those as well.
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Sam Frith: What else have we got?
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Sam Frith: Bamboo toilet paper? That's an interesting. I have made the switch to bamboo toilet paper.
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Sam Frith: but I'll make a confession with the kids. When we do their experiments of event, we have 2 liter water bottles filled up, so we fill them halfway up and we'll put a wet wipe in one, and we'll put toilet paper in another, or kitchen, roll in another, and get them to shake it as much as we can to see how quickly that toilet paper breaks up.
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Sam Frith: and I'm horrified to say that my bamboo toilet paper was not breaking up very quickly at all, so I honestly don't know what the answer is. I mean, I've moved to bamboo toilet paper for the environmental reasons of trying to save trees. But I'm not actually sure where we stand on. How good is breaking up within the sewage treatment process? I guess the answer is, do the experiment put a bit of toilet, roll in a bottle, give it a shake, and see how quickly it breaks up.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Very practical. Okay? And Kirsten has her hand up.
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Stuart Withington: Hmm.
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Kirsten Newble: Hi, I was. You record past that. It was every second Sunday in the month that you do the collection. I'm intrigued just how that works with volunteers, because obviously it's great to make a a commitment. But people do go on holiday, and you know life does go a bit sideways, somehow. What happens to does that somehow
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Kirsten Newble: cause you're a really big problem with the data? If the odd one is missed, does that? How how do you work around that to make it more.
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Sam Frith: Say, you know, if you can try and take it as close as you can to that date. So whether it's a Saturday or the Monday.
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Kirsten Newble: Okay, there's a bit of flexibility.
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Sam Frith: Yes, if you go away on holiday, we we've got a group chat so we can. We can coordinate between ourselves. I mean, we've got a group. I'm in Morton and Marsh. So we've got a group of about 10 people. So someone just put on the group chat, I'm really sorry I'm going away. Can anyone just do my sample site this weekend, and
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Sam Frith: and we can do it that way?
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Sam Frith: But the reason we try and get it all done at the same time on the same day is obviously that water is moving. So if we can take a snapshot of why the water where it is, because by the time it's gone from
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Sam Frith: upstream to downstream, you know, a day later they'll be testing, not the same.
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Kirsten Newble: I appreciate that. That was why I was worried. It might invalidate your data somehow, if if someone didn't hit the.
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Sam Frith: I mean again, it's
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Sam Frith: we appreciate. It's completely voluntary. And we're so grateful for people collecting data at all.
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Sam Frith: So and every bit of data is valuable. So even if it is 2 weeks late, it's still giving us that data, it's given up.
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Sam Frith: But there's those numbers, and we can work with that.
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Kirsten Newble: Brilliant. Can I have a part? B, while I'm here? Forgive me, do. Do you have a an even spread of volunteers over the country? Or do you find certain areas are more active at at participating.
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Sam Frith: At the minute. I mean, I refer to the even the catchment partnership, because we've been given funding. So actually, we've got the money to be able to get the test to citizen scientists so that they can test
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Sam Frith: But for other people around the country, I think there's 3 groups. So there's an even load. The chess and the Crane
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Sam Frith: rivers, which have all got funding long term funding.
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Sam Frith: Other groups around the country would then have to find their own funding. It's around 400 pounds for a year's worth of kits and reagent, plus, you know, you can then get support from a fort staff as well, and then help analyze your data and get you to understand what it means. It is just a case of signing up. You can become a a group leader or a group manager and then create your own little group
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Sam Frith: and start collecting that data.
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Kirsten Newble: Fascinating great thanks very much.
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Sam Frith: Nice.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Fish, trip.
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tristram cary: Sam, thank you very much for that. You're in the freshwater team. But does Earth watch cut, do the same sort of thing for for land based collection and.
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Sam Frith: So we've actually been working on we've been working on an agricultural program at the minute. It's mainly based in the Netherlands. But we're looking to bring it more into the Uk and use it within the Uk. I don't know very many details I'm assuming that's going to be around the same sort of structure. That's definitely set something that's earth watches looking into.
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tristram cary: Okay. Thank you.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Stuart.
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Stuart Withington: Hi, thank you. I I thought that was a really interesting
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Stuart Withington: presentation, and I'm fired up with enthusiasm.
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Stuart Withington: How would I get started doing this.
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Stuart Withington: Where do we get kits from?
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Stuart Withington: And
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Stuart Withington: are school children involved in any of these?
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Stuart Withington: And if so, what what sort of age would be
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Stuart Withington: appropriate.
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Sam Frith: So I'll go with your last question first.st
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Stuart Withington: Like, yeah.
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Sam Frith: So as part of the even low catchment where I am, I'm actually engaging with primary schools at the minute.
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Sam Frith: primary and sort of the 1st few years of secondary. So we've started with Year 6. We've got 5 schools
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Sam Frith: who have become have created their own little like eco warrior groups. And actually, I'm going to a school presentation and assembly tomorrow to see what their findings are, cause they've looked at all the data, and they've made their own little pie charts. And they've analyzed their own data.
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Sam Frith: So we're really trying to get children involved in this as much as they can. Just so they become more aware of the problems, become again connected with nature. More. And as an educational thing we can, we can make use of that as well.
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Sam Frith: how you can get involved. Where about are you based, Stuart?
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Stuart Withington: I'm in Great Dunmore in Essex.
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Stuart Withington: and we have the river Chelmer running through our patch.
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Sam Frith: Okay? Well, my suggestion was, send an email over to [email protected].
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Sam Frith: and yeah, just make some inquiries as to how you can start that group.
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Sam Frith: Obviously.
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Sam Frith: you'd have to try and find some funding whether that's, you know, a group of you can all put donations in, or whether you can approach your local council and see if they'd like to get involved, and and try and support you in in.
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Stuart Withington: I. I am a local councillor, so.
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Sam Frith: There we go. Yeah, make some inquiries and and see how how we can support you.
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Stuart Withington: Thank you.
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Sam Frith: Was there any other questions I can't remember.
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Sam Frith: Okay.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: There was, I think I oh, sorry not.
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Sam Frith: I know that was the list.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: And then there was John, who goes next?
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John Payne: Yeah, thanks for the talk. I'm going to ask you, do you collaborate with other groups? Particularly
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John Payne: we. We are right beside the River Wye
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John Payne: river action, and of course, our good friend Angela Jones, the wild swimmer, who's such a character and such a powerful force, you know.
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Sam Frith: Yeah.
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Sam Frith: So yes, I mean, we're working closely with river action. At the minute. It's more
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Sam Frith: so based towards rowing clubs. I think we're trying, especially with all the regattas that come up. We work closely with them, supply them with our kits, and can analyze that data. They take it a bit further, and they've got funding for E. Coli testing, which is something that we are looking into.
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Sam Frith: But we're definitely coordinating and collaborating with lots of other groups. You might have seen Steve backshall on television. He's using our our water data kits as well. But it's also not just the the fresh water testing. We work quite closely with the Riverfly trust as well. So we're looking at that data. And.
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Sam Frith: you know, collaborating and matching up their data findings to what we're finding, and then being able to put a bigger picture on what the health of the river is that way.
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John Payne: Thank you. Thanks.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Okay. And Mike is your turn.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: Yeah. Well, I live in Hawaii, which is just inside the Welsh border, and I've I've been
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: putting up the whole stuff. Other stuff in the in in the chat.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: extinction rebellion in 2,019
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: in hay decided that they
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: should look at the the effect of pollution on the River Y,
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: and so they form the friends of the Upper Y and
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: they decided. Obviously, we decided not to brand it exar so that it would get a much wider
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: catchment of people. So I think it's quite a wise thing to do, and of course that has proliferated into what is now called safety y and all sorts of other organizations before they all join together. And the Citizen science project that's being run
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: is is actually providing massively interesting information about what was going on in the river
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: all the way down. And we've been using it, of course. Politically, because he was saying, How do you keep people involved and interested? And
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: one of the ways that we do that is, by making it very political by saying, You know.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: why aren't the authorities doing something about the fact that the our rivers are being polluted? And it's in some cases dangerous to swim in them. And apart from the lack of biodiversity and everything else that's going on, and and I think we began 1st of all by
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: and I wasn't involved in this, but but by coordinating the Cardiff University to collect the citizen science information.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: and I'm not quite sure how it's developed since then.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: But last week we got bathing status for a section of Warren, and
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: we started to try and get that initially, because that would force the authorities to actually test the water on a regular basis.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: and they, of course, refused and refused and refused, and eventually
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: it, it was achieved after a lot of of of
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: pressure.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: But I mean, I mean, this is all relates not just to
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: monitoring what's going on in the rivers, but it's related to. Where does the pollution come from? In the 1st place? Well, we know it comes from sewerage, and we know it comes from agricultural runoff.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: But in our and in Herefordshire and and in Paris it comes from also it comes from the proliferation of chicken factories
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: which? We get something like 21 million or 22 million of them.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: And they have 7 crops a year. They multiply those 2 figures together, and see how many millions of chickens, and of course, initially there was no attempt to try and deal with the externalities which is the chicken ship
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: I mean, there were requirements, but there was no enforcement of the requirements in the planning system. So we we then started putting pressure on on the politicians. And Xr, we can do things which
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: other people can't do in the sense that we close down the major manufacturer of Soya food, which is carbon lavara for a a day while we ran a march in Hereford.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: and we put up a website which sent out
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: which enabled people who wanted to respond to the reflex which drove people to the website to bombard the 3 local Mps and the CEO of cargo lavara with what they were doing in order for them to be held accountable for us, and I think over 650 people sent out letters on that particular day.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: and so we were able to put a lot of pressure which is direct action pressure. While the organizations have been setting up which branded Xr. We're able to do a whole part of negotiations, and we still haven't got where we want be by any kind of means, and it's large because of the defunding of the regulatory authorities. It isn't as though we haven't got all the legislation we do. And
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: You know, it's very important for people to understand that
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: who they elect at the next election is really important in terms of whether or not anything's going to be done about.
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Sam Frith: Yeah.
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Sam Frith: Yeah. The only way this is going to be resolved is regulation change at governmental level?
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Sam Frith: I can't. I can't
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Sam Frith: tell you who to vote for. But we we really need to be careful as to what people are promising, and if they promise it, we need to hold them to those promises, because, you know, the last time British rivers were fully surveyed was about 2019, and they were meant to be done every few years and again, funding resources, money, people.
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Sam Frith: I've all just completely been cut back on to the point where we're now in trouble, and to get our rivers back to good ecological health is a mammoth task.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Tim, do you know, or does Mike know in the Uk. Where do you sit and stand on suing companies that are breaking the law? You know.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: Well, I don't know about that specifically, but I do know that there is now a huge action being taken against cargo lavara, for the pollution that they've undertaken. And that's 1 particular law firm who's collecting together anybody who is in any way had their life in affected by
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: chicken pollution, basically. That. That's whether they've been ill because of the smells, because they live close to it is the value of that property is being reduced. That business turnover is being reduced, or whatever it is, and it's a mass action, and it's the same as the action that was taken against cargo lavara in I think it was in in America which took 7 or 8 years to to before it was
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: cargo lost the case so cargo is is the 14, th biggest
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: Well, food manufacturing global corporation on on the planet. the.is owned by one family. And even the babies are born billionaires.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: and they've got so many
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: resources. Then it's very, very difficult to fight them.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: Because we're just minutes, basically. And they play off regulators against specific interests of various sorts. I mean, you can't blame the farmers for wanting to have chicken factories because they needs to earn money and they weren't earning money.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: And you know, if I come along with a piece of paper and say, sign this contract, we will guarantee you 5 million over the next 5 years. You will have to invest 2 million. To do this. To do that you sign the contract. You can go to your bank. You can get the 2 million you need in order to be able to set up this new subsection of your farming business, and you will be in profit for so many years. But you have to buy all of the
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: food from us, and you have to sell all of the chickens to us. And and so farmers signed up. Why wouldn't? Because
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: you probably weren't even thinking about anything else except survival
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: because our agricultural industries and such. And that's so. It's a very complicated set of things. And and and the thing is that we're not.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: We mustn't think of the farmers as being the enemy, or allowing the farmers to think that we're the enemy.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: We're all being affected by this, and and many of them, I think, understand that. So we're working very hard to talk to them directly and and get them involved in initiatives which make them realize actually, all the same ship.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Thank you very much, Mike. Good luck! Good luck with it, Peter.
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Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Hello, Sam! That was great, but my apologies. I miss miss the last 7 min of your talk because I had to take a telephone call, but.
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Sam Frith: Laurie.
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Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: You may have actually kind of answered the question which we're about to say now. But I run. I'm chair of the East Chemistry, Climate Action network and I'm I'm I was just trying to find your website. I'm not quite sure that I've got the right Earth watch? Is there another website.
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Sam Frith: Let's watch Europe.
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Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Oh, you're Earthwatch, New Europe, not earthwatch.org.
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Sam Frith: Oh, yeah, we're a global organization. So yeah, earth watch Europe.
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Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Right, I'll find that in a moment. So but the question was, okay, we live in East Cambridgeshire. How will I get to know who is already involved in a in doing measurements in East Cambridgeshire? That's the 1st question, and then second question, if there's nobody involved in doing it. How do we actually move to a stage of encouraging people?
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Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: to get involved.
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Sam Frith: Well, ironically, we've just run the great Uk water. Blitz.
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Sam Frith: You can see the results online. We've just released the results of our findings and Cambridgeshire came off of one of the worst places in the country.
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Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Yeah, I I was. Gonna say, I thought I'd listen to that on the news. Recently.
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Sam Frith: Yeah. I'm not sure who is regularly testing around that again. I think your best bet would be if it will be someone with using our kits is to email [email protected]. Ask the question. We can have a look and see which groups active locally, if any.
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Sam Frith: if not, then
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Sam Frith: make some inquiries.
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Sam Frith: it will require finding some funding for yourselves again, like I said earlier, whether it's just a private group that want to do it voluntarily, or whether you can approach your an organization or or your local council.
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Sam Frith: And there's you can start
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Sam Frith: start making some inquiries and get some kits and start testing.
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Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Yeah, I mean, we are. We've just become a community interest company. And I've currently filling in the bank account details to get back account. Yeah. Okay, so yeah, no, that's fine. It's great.
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Sam Frith: Again. The Uk water, Blitz, we ran. We are going to be running again in September, so in September anyone can sign up as an individual. You'll be sent out a single test for nitrates and phosphates, and you have the opportunity to go out. Test your local river, lake, pond, or stream and then your data will be collected, analyzed on a completely national level. And again, we'll be able to find out and find that snapshot of the overall health of the Uk water bodies.
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Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: And that water breaks. Report is on on the website as well. I see.
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Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Brilliant thanks.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Anyone else got any questions? Oh, I got 2 people. Mike's back, Mike, please go ahead.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: Yeah, I I'm Sam. I just wondered. are you directly connected with the the river? Y
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: Citizen science projects, and all of that data, and so on, so forth.
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Sam Frith: I'm not so I've been more focusing on the even load down here
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Sam Frith: in in a Cotswolds. But we can find out who who has been monitoring around by you.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: But I was just. I was just
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: wondering. I I don't know how your organization works, but
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: and
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: it just seems to me that there needs to be some sort of if there isn't, and I expect must be. But if there isn't that, there's some sort of coordination between what's happening here, because there's an awful lot of people in this system science project doing a huge amount of work on a regular basis. And all of the information is being collected and monitored. And and
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: if you guys will be doing something like that, then maybe when you get people who wants to get involved in the Y, you head them in our direction, or maybe
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: vice versa, or whatever. And or maybe it's already happened, since I I'm not that.
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Sam Frith: Well, there's lots of groups out there using different methodologies. So a lot of them are using digital data collection kits. They're called Hanna meters.
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Sam Frith: again, we we are use our kits just because they're fairly easy to standardize and fool proof to get wrong.
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Sam Frith: Other people have been able to get the funding and a send collecting data samples and sending them off to labs. And then they really are scientific. I think our major issues at the minute is we need to get the environment agency to start accepting whatever data people are collecting so just so reluctant to accept anything because of the risk of
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Sam Frith: you know, incorrectly calibrated machines. If you're using a a piece of equipment.
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Sam Frith: Our, said just, I. I just don't know their reasons for not. But I think that's going to be the biggest win is if we can get the environment agency to actually start accepting our data, even if they just use our data as a red flag warning sign to say, Look, there's something wrong here. You need to come out and investigate.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: John, how about you, please?
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: You're on pain. You got your hand up.
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John Payne: Yep. Sorry I couldn't get my.
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John Payne: and I'm not muted. What can I ask for what you
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John Payne: all of you think about a
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John Payne: a campaign we went, which we learned about yesterday when we went to a local exile group in Abergavenny which we don't normally go to.
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John Payne: and it's the Dirty Waters campaign.
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John Payne: and this is primarily concerned with sewage.
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John Payne: which
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John Payne: it's probably more of a problem on the ask when? On the why? It's the chicken shit.
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John Payne: and it's a campaign which
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John Payne: is to
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John Payne: give prominence to to the local population about the dangers of river pollution
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John Payne: and asking them to take action by actually refusing to pay their sewage bills.
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John Payne: The component of the of the
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John Payne: of the water bill that relates to sewage.
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Sam Frith: Yep, I I have a few people I know that.
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Sam Frith: but.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: We all lost
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Sam, Sam? Or is it just myself.
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Jacky Lawrence, Napton PC Climate and Environment Working Party: Yes, I've lost her 2.
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Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Yes, I've lost.
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Kirsten Newble: Yeah, me, too.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Okay, let's see what happens.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: Lost.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: I'm sure she.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Sam has done me a huge favor, because the person who was due to give the band session this week suddenly discovered they were going to be in Glastonbury for the festival, and they didn't think the Wi-fi coverage would suit.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: So Sam pitched in at the last minute because she and I had been involved on another discussion about setting up
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: another banter group.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: and I said, I will be prepared to help her. She be prepared to inch in. She's done this on very short notice. I'm very grateful.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: but we may look at the roster altogether, haven't we?
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: Is. Is anybody monitoring whether she's sitting in a waiting room or something?
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: We don't have a waiting role on these calls. Everyone comes straight in.
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mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: Night.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: So I suspect she's had some sort of
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: issue with her end.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Bonnie, would you like to
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Ask your question if it's a general one? Or is it specifically for Sam.
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Bonny Williams: It was specifically for her. It's just really regarding the environment agency.
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Bonny Williams: There she is.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Okay. Well done.
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00:54:01.690 --> 00:54:06.153
Sam Frith: The Gremlins are having a good time with me today.
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00:54:08.420 --> 00:54:18.329
Graham Stoddart-Stones: Oh, you! You got an excuse, Sam. I was just explaining to everybody how you'd helped out by coming in at the last minute. So if the Gremlins are taking advantage, that's that's
483
00:54:21.870 --> 00:54:24.597
Graham Stoddart-Stones: So do you remember where you got to before we.
484
00:54:24.870 --> 00:54:29.160
Sam Frith: It was. And so we're talking about withholding the sewage part of your water bill.
485
00:54:29.696 --> 00:54:35.809
Sam Frith: There are people that are doing it. Obviously it's a risk, it's of
486
00:54:35.900 --> 00:54:40.250
Sam Frith: giving you a nice red mark against your your financial and your credit.
487
00:54:40.560 --> 00:54:49.940
Sam Frith: And you've also got to really understand why you're doing it, so that when the bailiffs come knocking on your door because they will, you've got to have your argument, and you've
488
00:54:50.630 --> 00:54:51.620
Sam Frith: takes up.
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00:54:56.610 --> 00:54:58.490
Graham Stoddart-Stones: Remnant stroke again.
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00:55:06.340 --> 00:55:09.140
mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: i i i wonder if some can hear us.
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00:55:10.130 --> 00:55:11.592
Sam Frith: I can now.
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00:55:12.080 --> 00:55:22.919
mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: 1. 1 way to make this a bit easier is you? You might be able to turn off your video and that come through on audio, and that would reduce the amount of
493
00:55:22.950 --> 00:55:24.450
mike E - Hay on Wye Resilience: oh, you're having.
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00:55:24.880 --> 00:55:29.600
Sam Frith: There we go. So did anyone hear what I just said? Or shall I start again?
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00:55:29.880 --> 00:55:31.209
Graham Stoddart-Stones: Once again, Sam.
496
00:55:36.070 --> 00:55:37.180
Graham Stoddart-Stones: you hear us
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00:55:39.710 --> 00:55:40.760
Graham Stoddart-Stones: new.
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00:55:42.020 --> 00:55:46.960
Kirsten Newble: Perhaps if we turned our videos off, so there's less day to go back in opposite direction for her. It might help.
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00:55:47.590 --> 00:55:48.720
Graham Stoddart-Stones: We can try.
500
00:56:31.910 --> 00:56:34.339
Bonny Williams: Looks like we might have to call it a day.
501
00:56:35.320 --> 00:56:35.750
Graham Stoddart-Stones: Yes.
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00:56:35.750 --> 00:56:36.569
Kirsten Newble: But Sam.
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00:56:37.440 --> 00:56:38.809
Bonny Williams: That wasn't them.
504
00:56:38.830 --> 00:56:42.120
Bonny Williams: It was probably Sammy. There, are you there, Sam? Good.
505
00:56:42.120 --> 00:56:49.339
Sam Frith: I'm here. I'm here. I can't see any of you, and my pitch is not working. But yes, my goodness.
506
00:56:50.200 --> 00:56:54.810
Sam Frith: so I had to change from my Wi-fi to my phone's hotspot.
507
00:56:54.900 --> 00:56:57.788
Sam Frith: and I think everything's just getting too hot.
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00:56:59.940 --> 00:57:02.959
Kirsten Newble: We've turned off our cameras to reduce the data for you, Sammy.
509
00:57:02.960 --> 00:57:06.000
Sam Frith: I was. That's why I can't see you.
510
00:57:06.380 --> 00:57:09.730
Kirsten Newble: Yeah. So no panic. That's not a glitch. Our end. That's us trying to help.
511
00:57:10.210 --> 00:57:18.229
Sam Frith: Thank you all so much. So starts again. So withholding the sewage part of your water bill is risky.
512
00:57:18.600 --> 00:57:20.320
Sam Frith: You could end up
513
00:57:22.340 --> 00:57:23.740
Sam Frith: credit rating.
514
00:57:24.270 --> 00:57:25.030
Sam Frith: I
515
00:57:25.650 --> 00:57:30.710
Sam Frith: sure that you've got your facts and your story
516
00:57:32.900 --> 00:57:48.200
Sam Frith: solid, so that when the bailiffs come knocking on your door, which they inevitably will, you've got to know exactly your reasons for withholding that sewage part of your water bill. Evidence will help and just be willing to then take that to court as well.
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00:57:53.260 --> 00:57:54.600
Sam Frith: They don't always.
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00:57:55.960 --> 00:58:06.450
Graham Stoddart-Stones: Okay, that's a fact statement. I'm afraid I've lost track of who had their hand up at the line. Is there anyone else with a question for Sam. Please.
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00:58:06.800 --> 00:58:07.390
Bonny Williams: Bad.
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00:58:08.380 --> 00:58:09.380
Sam Frith: Hi Bonnie.
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00:58:09.759 --> 00:58:23.420
Bonny Williams: Excellent presentation. Thank you. So I'm a trustee of pace, Manning Tree, and we've been doing a citizen science project for a little while with the store. I think, mostly with the Riverfly project.
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00:58:23.480 --> 00:58:31.149
Bonny Williams: The question I've got is in relation to some of the data cause. I had a somewhat heated debate with a lot of people about this, because
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00:58:31.380 --> 00:58:39.010
Bonny Williams: it seems to me, and perhaps you can correct me if I'm wrong, that the environment agency may be going to collect our data.
524
00:58:39.050 --> 00:58:41.669
Bonny Williams: but not necessarily do anything about it.
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00:58:42.669 --> 00:58:55.219
Bonny Williams: And so one of the things that matters to me on a personal level. I'm 1 of the money tree mermaids. We swim in our river, and we've done similar sort of in parallel with the pace.
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00:58:56.660 --> 00:59:07.689
Bonny Williams: citizen science stuff. We've also been doing that as part of the Mermaids group and recently applied to defra and been awarded bathing water status. But we've actually found that the most dangerous
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00:59:08.370 --> 00:59:21.069
Bonny Williams: in terms of E. Coli, which is what seems to be affecting us. The most dangerous place is actually next to the treated sewage, not the untreated sewage, because that's where there's the most antibiotic
528
00:59:21.210 --> 00:59:27.680
Bonny Williams: bacteria. Antibiotic resistant bacteria is with the treated sewage. Now, my
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00:59:27.790 --> 00:59:39.580
Bonny Williams: understanding is that regardless of that evidence that we've now started to collect the environment agency aren't going to do anything anyway. They may accept the data, but they can't do anything. Am I wrong?
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00:59:42.170 --> 01:00:05.819
Sam Frith: This is an argument I've been having with the environment agency for for a while now. I agree. The treated effluent that's being returned into our rivers is not good enough quality. The environment agency. They've said themselves that that treated effluent is still not safe to swim in. It's not safe for humans. It's not safe for animals. It is a poor quality.
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01:00:06.632 --> 01:00:16.299
Sam Frith: Basically. I go back to my point. But all we're doing that. Most sewage treatment works is taking out the big bits. They're taking out anything bigger than 6
532
01:00:16.410 --> 01:00:26.319
Sam Frith: They then put it through an aerator so that your good bacteria can somewhat eat some of your bad bacteria. It then settles and gets returned back to the river.
533
01:00:27.380 --> 01:00:37.920
Sam Frith: What we need to fight for is stronger regulations, stronger rules and make sure that the permits of those sewage treatment works are treating that water to a higher quality.
534
01:00:37.950 --> 01:00:40.504
Sam Frith: I think that's our way around it.
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01:00:41.730 --> 01:00:53.210
Sam Frith: Again. I had an argument with environment agency last week. They've just spent 22 million pounds updating a sewage treatment works locally to me. But they've not put any chemical stripping on it.
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01:00:53.280 --> 01:00:56.580
Sam Frith: All they're doing is they've just raised the capacity.
537
01:00:56.690 --> 01:00:59.600
Sam Frith: but they're still going to be discharging water, which is.
538
01:00:59.780 --> 01:01:01.390
Sam Frith: it's safe for us.
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01:01:03.390 --> 01:01:14.459
Bonny Williams: It's just, it's it's a bit just just disheartening. I think there's so many people putting so much effort into citizen science and monitoring the quality of the water. But for what if they aren't gonna be able.
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01:01:14.460 --> 01:01:15.159
Sam Frith: So I did.
541
01:01:15.160 --> 01:01:16.780
Bonny Williams: About making it better.
542
01:01:18.000 --> 01:01:36.250
Sam Frith: So that we can shout for change. That regulation needs to be changed. The permits need to be changed. My local sewage works permit is over 40 years old, and every time I talk to the environment agency, I say, when are you going to get that permit updated? When are you going to get this permit updated, it needs to be
543
01:01:36.280 --> 01:01:54.320
Sam Frith: raised up so that the quality is improved. And then, once that permit has been updated and improved, the water companies have to abide by it at the minute, because the permits are so rubbish. The the water companies are not, are not breaking any rules because they're complying with the permit. Does that make sense.
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01:01:54.320 --> 01:02:03.869
Bonny Williams: It does so sorry just to go a little bit back on it. Then, in terms of the permit, and what we might be able to do locally because the sewage works that's causing the biggest issue
545
01:02:03.930 --> 01:02:14.519
Bonny Williams: when you're saying, get the permit updated. Do you mean that today's standards wouldn't allow them to do this, but because the permit is old, they can do it, or even today's standards are too low.
546
01:02:16.020 --> 01:02:18.380
Sam Frith: I say?
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01:02:18.772 --> 01:02:21.679
Sam Frith: I think it really needs a serious look at
548
01:02:21.780 --> 01:02:22.430
Sam Frith: bye
549
01:02:24.360 --> 01:02:36.901
Sam Frith: I mean for me. I haven't even got phosphate mentioned on our social treatment works. So you know, just getting phosphate levels added to that permit would instantly be a quick win. I say, quick!
550
01:02:38.080 --> 01:02:39.480
Sam Frith: It would be an improvement.
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01:02:39.790 --> 01:02:41.459
Bonny Williams: Right. I think so.
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01:02:41.460 --> 01:03:02.410
Sam Frith: Suggesting you can get hold of those permits from your sewage treatment works via freedom of information. So you can email your companies go, please, can I see the permit for this sewage treatment works? The other thing I suggest is, please, can you send me a network map? The exact area that this sewage treatment works is serving.
553
01:03:02.670 --> 01:03:07.279
Sam Frith: and then from there it gets a bit more baffling for me, and so
554
01:03:08.088 --> 01:03:18.500
Sam Frith: see what the levels of phosphate, for example, they are allowed to to release. Then environment agency
555
01:03:18.510 --> 01:03:31.309
Sam Frith: has and should have an open data for you to go on to and see what their tests have been cause they should be going out and monitoring these effluent tests that water companies take.
556
01:03:31.730 --> 01:03:39.329
Sam Frith: So it's very long winded. It gets quite technical. But there is a way of snipping around and and seeing what they're actually doing.
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01:03:39.970 --> 01:03:42.359
Bonny Williams: Interesting good to know. Thanks so much.
558
01:03:43.550 --> 01:03:45.102
Sam Frith: Oh, that's fine!
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01:03:46.280 --> 01:03:54.240
Graham Stoddart-Stones: Yeah, I'm very conscious that you've got another meeting to run to. So let me just check to see if everyone has asked the questions they want to ask.
560
01:03:54.400 --> 01:03:58.909
Graham Stoddart-Stones: This is your last going gong movement.
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01:03:59.444 --> 01:04:08.089
Graham Stoddart-Stones: So let me just reiterate, please, Sam. Thank you so much for what was an invigorating and frightening presentation.
562
01:04:08.120 --> 01:04:13.869
Graham Stoddart-Stones: and moved to come and join you in your efforts.
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01:04:14.460 --> 01:04:15.480
Graham Stoddart-Stones: Thank you. So.
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01:04:15.755 --> 01:04:16.030
Sam Frith: And.
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01:04:16.030 --> 01:04:16.880
Graham Stoddart-Stones: Your time.
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01:04:18.170 --> 01:04:44.890
Sam Frith: What I'd like to add is, if you do see signs of something suspicious or pollution, then please report it to the environment agency. The more we we ask and report these things, the more likely it is for them. Come out and and check it out. Have a look what's going on. A lot of water companies have the same procedure. You can phone them up and report pollution as well. I know Thames is is quite good. They promise they should be with it there within 2 h.
567
01:04:46.620 --> 01:04:51.333
Sam Frith: but yeah, please don't feel disheartened. I know that it's quite a scary subject.
568
01:04:51.820 --> 01:05:07.420
Sam Frith: but I know Jennifer's also given a presentation previously earlier in the year. If you've got any questions, go back and watch her presentation as well, she does provide a lot more answers. Towards the end of that presentation. So no, there's tools that's helpful support out there.
569
01:05:09.010 --> 01:05:38.030
Graham Stoddart-Stones: Julia. Thank you very much, Sam, and for everybody that we will be putting this presentation. And Sam's video and the chat session and the the AI summary of it all up on the wiki in the next day or 2 next week. Everybody. I won't be here. I'll be somewhere in the south middle of the Atlantic. But Jules Thompson will be back telling us more stories of how we should be running things, and, Bonnie, I expect you'll be helping you out on that.
570
01:05:38.090 --> 01:05:44.550
Graham Stoddart-Stones: so I do hope you'll come back next week. And in the meantime, Sam, thank you so much, and goodbye to you all. Take care.
571
01:05:44.770 --> 01:05:45.910
Bonny Williams: Thanks, so much.
572
01:05:46.290 --> 01:05:48.780
Sam Frith: Good one. Thank you for your patience.
573
01:05:49.040 --> 01:05:49.580
Sam Frith: Right?
574
01:05:50.360 --> 01:05:52.680
Stuart Withington: Brian, do you still add it?
575
01:05:52.680 --> 01:05:53.340
Graham Stoddart-Stones: Yep.
576
01:05:53.340 --> 01:05:58.060
Stuart Withington: I was just wondering where about seeing the resource you're aiming for.
577
01:05:59.150 --> 01:05:59.810
Graham Stoddart-Stones: Oh,
578
01:06:00.530 --> 01:06:12.259
Graham Stoddart-Stones: I think we need to be in a certain place at a certain time, but that will probably not be our land, for, because they don't have any immigration facilities, so I think St. Mary's may be the end
579
01:06:12.370 --> 01:06:18.649
Graham Stoddart-Stones: result. But I've got to fly back for my daughter's graduation. So I'll be going to tessera.
580
01:06:19.150 --> 01:06:20.010
Graham Stoddart-Stones: So that's.
581
01:06:20.010 --> 01:06:22.700
Stuart Withington: Nice, nice island. I like that one.
582
01:06:22.910 --> 01:06:28.150
Graham Stoddart-Stones: Okay, good. Well, I will take. I will take lots of photographs and share them with you.
583
01:06:28.150 --> 01:06:31.570
Stuart Withington: Fantastic okay. Thanks very much indeed.
584
01:06:31.570 --> 01:06:32.959
Graham Stoddart-Stones: Take care all bye, bye.
