Wem firm donates lab equipment to improve river health
A local laboratory equipment firm has donated specialist apparatus to help a project that will improve the health of Shropshire’s rivers.
SciQuip of Wem has given Shropshire Wildlife Trust kit that will enable volunteers to measure key aspects of river health.
River project manager at Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Pete Lambert, said it will allow the team to measure oxygen levels for the first time.
He said: "We’ve been recruiting and training volunteers to check pollution levels in local rivers and streams, but we’ve never been able to measure the amount of oxygen or the conductivity of the water, which can change with pollution incidents. We have volunteers on lots of Shropshire’s rivers, such as the Roden, Clun and Morda, and they are our early warning system to catch and stop river pollution.”
This summer low oxygen levels in Shropshire’s rivers led to fish death and a number of emergency fish rescues.
Matt Brooksbank, managing director of SciQuip added: "Our business is firmly rooted in rural Shropshire and we’ve been horrified at the poor health of its rivers and felt we could do something to help. We supply laboratory equipment to clinical, academic and manufacturing sectors throughout the UK but it’s great to see communities empowered to care for their local environment."
The Wildlife Trust project is part of the Environment Agency’s River Friendly Shropshire programme that is improving drinking water quality, and enhancing wetland wildlife habitats to ensure rivers are in good health by 2026.
