We are excited to announce our partnership with Water Rangers UK and FLOW CIC! Together, we will be testing of rivers and streams throughout the New Forest, utilising Kyoritsu test kits to measure nitrates and phosphates wherever we have a monitoring group. In areas where further analysis is necessary, we will expand our tests to include ammonia, alkalinity, conductivity, and pH levels. In addition, in response to environmental concerns identified by New Forest Friends of the Earth in Lymington, we will also be testing for E.coli as an indicator of faecal contamination, using ROTH R-Cards to ensure the safety and health of our rivers and streams. The protocols and test equipment we will use have been validated by academic researchers so that these data will provide a reliable indicator of water quality. Collected regularly over many sampling points and over a similar timeframe, the results will provide a powerful body of information and allow us to identify problem areas and hotspots which need to be highlighted and examined with a full set of lab tools.
LAUNCH OF NEW FOREST WATER WATCH
This week we launched New Forest Water Watch at public events held at St Barbe Climate Chats and at Lymington Town Sailing Club. We are hugely grateful for public support at these events. New Forest Water Watch is a community-based freshwater monitoring initiative that will work to build a robust, evidence-led picture of water health across the New Forest.
Our work brings together trained volunteers, scientific methods, and open data, we monitor changing conditions, identify environmental pressures, and support informed protection of rivers, streams, and ponds.
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PARTNERS
New Forest Water Watch will partner with both FLOW CIC and Water Rangers UK, whose monitoring systems combine field-based water testing with an open digital platform for recording, managing, and sharing environmental data. This will enable consistent, scientifically grounded monitoring while making high-quality environmental data accessible to communities, researchers, and environmental organisations. Importantly, members of the public will see whether our local rivers and streams are fit for bathing.
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Water Rangers UK Testing Kit
HOW IT WORKS
Volunteer groups around the New Forest will be using Kyuritsu tests for nitrates and phosphates. We have used these several times for Freshwater Watch’s Water Blitz. They are easy for people to use and understand, and they give reliable results. Some groups will also measure key indicators including dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, conductivity, and nutrients using reliable field methods.
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Importantly, we are very keen to see E.coli eliminated from our water. Of course we will be testing again, and all groups will receive R cards. Findings are shared openly, allowing data about freshwater health to be publicly available and trends to be tracked.
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All results are reviewed and stored using recognised scientific data standards to ensure consistency and long-term value. WIthout this, the water companies simply do not take readings seriously.
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Kyuritsu water testing kit
SUPPORT
Would you like to support us in our aim to freshwater protection? We welcome new volunteers and partner organisations. We are very grateful for those who have lent support so far. If you would like to support you could message us through this website, or go to our Just Giving page here.
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/newforestwaterwatch
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​You could get involved by taking part in monitoring sessions and supporting the protection of New Forest waters. You could also donate to further our work. Testing reagents are consumable rather than recyclable, and as we extend our work, so costs mount up.
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Together, we can build a clear, evidence-based picture of freshwater health, and help safeguard it for the future.
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WHY IT MATTERS
Charlotte Baker, who introduced and mediated St Barbes’ Climate Chats, gave a brilliant and disturbing personal account of an infection with E.coli; one that members of the audience won’t forget. And with respect to our own thoughts on E.coli, read one of our recent blogs on its effects. We are desperately keem to see the elimination of E.coli pollution in the Lymington River, and in all New Forest streams.
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Freshwater is fundamental to the New Forest’s biodiversity and ecological resilience. Long-term monitoring helps detect change, identify pressures, and support evidence-based protection of rivers, streams, and ponds.
