Dusk at Efford Mill: The Launch of New Forest Water Watch

On a chilly March evening, as the light faded over the Avon Water, a group gathered at Efford Mill. Several evenings have felt like the launch of New Forest Water Watch; an evening at St Barbes ‘Climate Chats’ and our earlier meeting in Sway, but this felt like something new was taking shape: the launch of New Forest Water Watch, a coordinated, community-led effort to understand and protect our rivers.

We began outside, by the riverbank itself. Forty people gathered along the bank and on the small bridge, watching as the first sample was taken from the river at dusk. It was a practical start, grounded in the reality of the work, showing exactly what’s involved, how it’s done, and above all, identification of hazards and control methods.

As dusk settled outside, we moved in. Inside the mill, the atmosphere was warm and busy. People had come from across the New Forest; some experienced, many completely new. The room quickly filled with discussion and a steady barrage of questions. Maps were spread out, conversations overlapped, and there was a clear sense that people wanted answers and were ready to be part of finding them. Adam Ellis (FLO CIC) and Alistair Young (Water Rangers) gave short, focused talks to get everyone started. The emphasis was on practicalities: what to test, how to test, and how to do it safely.

One of the challenges was turning a room full of people, most of whom didn’t know each other, into working groups. Using maps and Post-it notes, people began clustering around their local catchments, gradually forming groups linked to stretches of river.

Test kits were then distributed for nitrates, phosphates, and E. coli, along with essential safety guidance. We hope that people took away not just the equipment, but the confidence to use it; confidence to collect meaningful data and to contribute to a clearer, evidence-based picture of water quality across the New Forest.

This matters. Our rivers are under pressure, from nutrient pollution, sewage, and in some parts, diffuse agricultural runoff. Without data, problems are easily ignored or dismissed. As we found in Lymington River, community monitoring changes that. It creates evidence and builds accountability.

One aim of the evening was to begin linking people along the same waterways, and that is already starting to happen. Along the Avon Water alone, monitoring is now planned at five different points along its length, giving a far more complete picture than any single test ever could. Multiply that across multiple rivers, and a network begins to emerge. We hope that Efford Mill was the point at which concern turned into coordinated action.

We now only have capacity for new volunteers in the north-west New Forest, and for some willing to join existing monitoring groups. New Milton is a particular target. If we want our rivers to be taken seriously, we need the data to prove what is happening. This is how that starts.