It's #WorldRiversDay today and my pledge to the River Darwen is that I will continue to fight for better control of stormwater pollution in British Rivers. What pledge will you make to your local river today?

Most road runoff filtration systems are made by UK companies - so investing in tackling road runoff would be investing in UK jobs, wildlife, rivers + water security, as @stormwater-jo.bsky.social explains in our joint podcast with @planetpossible.bsky.social: 2/ podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...

Lead, mercury, tyre crumb, plastics, PAHs - a toxic sludge of chemicals surges off roads, into rivers, unfiltered, inundating fish + wildlife, every time it rains @stormwater-jo.bsky.social warms MPs. It's not monitored + little is done to prevent it. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

England’s toxic road runoff pollution being ignored, MPs told

Carcinogens entering waterways from 25,000 road outflows are not monitored or regulated by Environment Agency, committee hears

theguardian.com

Exciting times! Working with Aquawatch, we have a pair of water quality monitors in the River Darwen, measuring the size of the pollution caused by the M6 runoff. We want to see if simple analysis of turbidity & conductivity can pick up the pollution caused by the motorway runoff. 🧐

Yesterday, we witnessed caseless caddis fly larvae biting the caudal llamellae off a Banded Demoiselle larva and apparently eating them. I wonder if any entomologists working on aquatic invertebrates have ever seen this before? Thanks Samuel Gibson who helped me with the sampling

250 of the highest risk road runoff outfalls in England are within 500 metres of a Site of Specific Scientific Interest including protected rivers-with mercury, arsenic & other chemical horrors belting into waterways, according to data obtained by @endsreport.com www.endsreport.com/article/1911...

🧵Jo Bradley from Stormwater Shepherd, @stormwater-jo.bsky.social said National Highways’ plan for water quality is “woefully inadequate, and leaves thousands of highway outfalls with no prospect of the installation of treatment schemes for years to come”... www.endsreport.com/article/1911...

250 ‘high risk’ outfalls discharging toxic cocktail into waterways near protected sites

<b>EXCLUSIVE:</b> More than 250 ‘high risk’ outfalls across England, which channel polluted run-off from major roads into waterways, are located within striking distance of protected sites, data obtai...

endsreport.com

“We don't understand the pollution and we're doing nothing about it” 📹 @stormwater-jo.bsky.social This Thursday, ENDS will be showing exclusive footage and hosting a live webinar on the lesser-known pollutants choking England’s rivers Register for free ➡️ ends-report.wavecast.io/dead-in-the-...

This discharge from the M6 near Wigan enters the Leeds/Liverpool canal. Highway runoff should never discharge to canals because all the contaminated sediment & dissolved toxins accumulate around the discharge point, poisoning the local environment.

“It's not easy to be exact, but studies estimate that tires create anywhere from 10-28% of the world's microplastic pollution, according to National Geographic. These particles don't just disappear — they end up in our water, our soil, and our bodies.”

Scientists make disturbing new discovery while studying human urine samples: 'We urgently need to classify [this]'

A recent study found high levels of two potentially deadly chemicals in humans' urine, raising concerns about tire pollution.

thecooldown.com

If you’re interested to find highway outfalls that are polluting your river, now’s the time 🕰️. In a few weeks, this one will be concealed in undergrowth, but by locating it now, I’ve given myself the best change of finding it again in the rain ☔️ in the Spring when the vegetation is up to my ears 👂🏻

Research in Canada is underway to investigate the harm caused to fish eggs by road salt applications during the winter. The results have not been peer-reviewed yet, but they have found evidence of significant effects on the fish eggs. science.ubc.ca/news/january...

Winter road salt could be killing salmon eggs

Researchers have found that high levels of salt kill fertilized coho salmon eggs, raising concerns about the use of road salt in winter.

science.ubc.ca

Well done humanity. For it is us who have caused this rapid warming of the planet, and the devastating consequences for people and ecosystems that are so visible today and every day. theconversation.com/my-new-dark-...

My new dark red climate stripe for 2024 shows it’s the hottest year yet

These ‘warming stripes’, adopted around the world as a symbol of climate awareness, action and ambition, now include another dark red stripe for 2024.

theconversation.com

🌳 Scraps of woodland in Bristol on/near the Avon in St Anne’s. I want to make sure these go to good owners but don’t have anything like enough funds or beans to run this all myself with Bath / Warleigh acquisition going through soon. www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/1...

Check out this Land for sale on Rightmove

Land for sale in St Anne's, Bristol, Bristol, North Somerset, BS4 for £300,000. Marketed by David James, Wrington

rightmove.co.uk

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, 24% of earth’s freshwater animals are at risk of extinction. With marine animals playing a vital role in the wider ecosystem, the time for climate action is now critical. Read the full report - iucn.org/press-releas...

One quarter of freshwater animals at risk of extinction - IUCN Red List

Gland, Switzerland, 8 January 2025 (IUCN) – The largest global assessment of freshwater animals on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ to date has revealed that 24% of the world’s freshwater fish...

iucn.org

We’ve made it to Bluesky! Please give us a follow and share - we post positive solutions offering hope for tackling the nature and climate emergencies🌱

One more day of 20% off absolutely everything!🤓🤩🥳 www.charlottestrawbridge.co.uk/art

Charlotte Strawbridge@cstrawbridgeart.bsky.social · 2y ago

My biggest sale yet with 20% off everything today and tomorrow... So, while you're hopefully sitting in your pjs eating left over Christmas food, please take a look and treat yourself to original art, prints, coasters, tea towels & more. charlottestrawbridge.co.uk/art #BoxingDaySale 😊

A really exciting job opportunity working with me at Welsh Dee Trust. Head of project delivery. This role will have oversight of the delivery of all projects at Welsh Dee Trust and will make a significant impact upon the restoration of the Dee. Please share www.welshdeetrust.com/we-are-hirin...

Hi fellow ecologists! Do you know of any labs or research institutes that might have, or will have, open positions in amphibian research or conservation? Thanks!

I’ve added new people to this list, is there anyone else I’ve missed? Please share go.bsky.app/Bs811RP

Our December newsletter is out now! 🙌 New Riverfly merch, data reports, ‘Meet the monitor’ and more! Follow the the link below where you can also sign up to our newsletters⬇️ www.riverflies.org/newsletters

Newsletters — The Riverfly Partnership

riverflies.org

🧵Pond soundscapes are bursting with life and mysterious sounds! Aquatic insects rub hard body parts together to attract mates and submerged plants release oxygen bubbles as they respire in the hot sun.

145 species of spider from the six visits to this dairy farm, 17 of which have conservation status. Gonna take a while to write these species accounts. There are 31 beetles with status!

Forget Black Friday - try Buy Nothing Day instead. Today I will buy absolutely nothing. No plastic, no packaging to throw away, no tat, no food waste and nothing to add to our rubbish. Less consumption is the answer to so many of our problems - try it, just for a day. Image: nationaltoday.com

There used to be a dam here, replaced by a artificial rapids in 2020. Nothing was planted on the shores. Instead, we just decided to wait. This is how it looked a month ago after four years of natural plant dispersal. The photos are from 5.9.2020 and 24.9.2024. River Mätäjoki, Helsinki, Finland.

The single largest source of microplastics in the ocean is road runoff pollution. Microplastics, mainly from car tyres, are washed off our roads into storm drains, into rivers, out to sea, every time it rains. 🧵

I spotted this solution being installed today for a car-park extension at a farm shop. The owner was happy with it and the installers said it was light & easy to handle. A good solution for permeable parking 🤔 I like it, but what do you think? #SustainableDrainage

There are ~40 motorway outfalls into the upper reaches of the River Douglas catchment in Lancashire. Together, they drain 157 hectares of motorway surface into the River. That’s about 470 tonnes of toxic sediment washed into the River every year. #StormwaterPollution

Imagine the volume of road runoff entering the Lea from all those roads crossing it. Our Watershed Pollution Map shows National Highways outfalls on the M25 - but many smaller roads will be contributing runoff pollution to the Lea - records for those, patchier, sit with various local authorities

Save Lea Marshes@saveleamarshes.bsky.social · 2y ago

Rain = toxic road run-off into the River Lea “The next road investment strategy should...stop this pollution now, rather than allowing most sites to continue putting this toxic mix into our most vulnerable rivers and streams until almost the end of the decade.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Why, Oh why will it take until 2027 to deliver a Deposit Return Scheme? I despair. 700,000 plastic bottles are littered EVERY DAY in the UK. Some of them wash into rivers and oceans. What on Earth are we waiting for?? #PlasticPollution www.gov.uk/government/p...