University of Essex crowdfunding with University of Essex

Monitoring biodiversity and water quality in East Essex and Suffolk

A short summary of your project
We are raising funds to monitor biodiversity and water quality in our local rivers and estuaries. These waterways and beaches provide immense benefits to our mental health and well-being, sustain biodiversity, and support the local economy (e.g. oyster fisheries).
However, as widely publicized, our waterways are under immense stress from pollution which is exacerbated by climate change. This project aims to collect much-needed data on biodiversity and water quality in our local rivers and estuaries. Your support will help us gather critical information to protect and improve these vital ecosystems for the benefit of our community and future generations.
Who are We?
My name is Rob and I am a lecturer at the University of Essex. My research focuses on the positive and negative impacts of microorganisms in the environment around us. As a regular visitor to the beaches from Clacton to Mersea during the summer months and a consumer of local seafood, I have a personal interest in the local water quality.
The CRAP project brings together people from a range of backgrounds, scientists like myself, open-water swimmers, climate and environmental action groups, and even the occasional Mermaid!
Our story
All members of the CRAP team are deeply passionate about our local aquatic environments, whether for recreational activities such as swimming, sailing, and paddle boarding, or due to their love for local wildlife. Recently, poor water quality has become a hot topic in the press. While pollution can indeed impact human and environmental health, it's important to note that overall biodiversity in the UK’s waterways has been steadily improving over the last 30 years. However, what we urgently need is high-quality, long-term data on the state of our rivers and estuaries.
Over the past year, we have been collecting regular samples from the (Colne, Stour, and Tollesbury), measuring levels of E. coli and Enterococcus. These microbes are indicators of water quality and are used by the UK Government to determine bathing water status (more information here). In addition, we have been assessing levels of antimicrobial resistant bacteria (AMR) at regular intervals, as these represent a significant and emerging public health crisis. Our goal is to continue this important work to develop a valuable, sustainable, and long-term record of water quality in the local area. We also aim to expand our monitoring network to new sites. Furthermore, we plan to use state-of-the-art eDNA metabarcoding (for which we have been saving samples) to assess the broader ecological health of our waters.
Your support is crucial in helping us achieve these goals and protect our waterways for future generations.
Where will the money go?
Microbial Water quality testing
One E. coli test costs £2.30
Testing one water sample for E. coli and Enterococcus costs £2.6
Testing one water sample two types of AMR costs £3.35
Testing one site for a year costs £32 (+£15 for AMR 4 times a year)
One month of testing at all 40 sites costs £104
One year of testing at all sites costs £1250 (+£550 for AMR 4 times a year)
£2000 would pay for someone in the lab for a year and keep the project sustainable
eDNA Biodiversity assessment
£8500 would enable us to use eDNA to do an in-depth assessment of biodiversity (fish, invertebrates, mammals, and microbes) in 384 samples.
Where could this project go?
If we had extra funds we would could increase the amount of sites we look at, or look at new pollutants, e.g. microplastics, chemicals, etc.
Rewards
Anyone who supports will get project and result updates.
Anyone who supports us will also be acknowledged in any research outputs from the project
The first 20 supporters who donate more than £32 (the cost of testing one site for a year) will be invited to our in-person conference (in addition to the above).
Donate over £104 - the cost for a full month of testing at all our sites, and you will be invited to our in-person conference (in addition to the above).
Find us here
Webpage
Help us succeed!
You don't need to give money to help us succeed! Please share this project with anyone you think would support us – on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, by email, telephone, in a chat over the fence or on your blog.
In fact, share it with everyone you know as we think it's a great idea, and the more people who know about it, the more likely we are to make this work out brilliantly.
And we know we said you don't need to give money to help us, but we'd love it if you did! Please sponsor us and help make this happen!