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🌿 Improving Water Quality Strategy

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BLUEprint project objectives

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  • ​Identify sources and levels of aquatic environmental contamination across the three catchments.

  • Identify opportunities for the implementation of Nature-Based Solutions to improve water quality.

  • Encourage and support the implementation of Nature-Based Solutions, including costing larger solutions in the planning of the future BLUEprint project Delivery Award.

  • Engage local communities, landowners, and stakeholders in the mitigation process.

Water Sample Analysis 

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🧬 Environmental DNA (eDNA)

Environmental DNA (eDNA) refers to genetic material shed by organisms into their surroundings—such as water, soil, or air—through skin cells, faeces, urine, or mucus. By collecting and analysing water samples for traces of eDNA, scientists can detect and identify the presence of specific species or sources of pollution without needing to observe or capture the organisms directly.

  • Use sterile 1L bottles and/or membrane filters to collect surface water.

  • Include field blanks and duplicate samples.

  • Filter water on-site (or immediately on return to lab) through 0.45 µm filters.

  • Store filters in ethanol or a preservation buffer for later qPCR/metabarcoding analysis.

  • Target species-specific markers for:

    • Human gut bacteria (e.g., HF183)

    • Cattle (e.g., Rum2Bac, CowM2)

    • Dog-specific markers (e.g., DogBac)

    • Use shotgun sequencing/metabarcoding to pick up non-target eDNA (e.g., wildlife or unexpected inputs).

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🧪Field testing of chemical analysis (Complementary Strategy)​

  • Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and Temperature Probes – for assessing aquatic health and spotting signs of eutrophication or low-oxygen stress.

  • Phosphates and nitrates testing to indicate agricultural runoff or sewage input.

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🧫Additional Laboratory Strategy

  •  Agar Plates and Colony Counting – traditional microbiological method to culture and quantify bacteria (e.g. E. coli, Enterococci) from water samples, useful for public health risk assessment and validating eDNA results.

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✅Quality Assurance and Data Logging

  • GPS-tag each site.

  • Record:

    • Weather conditions

    • Time since last rainfall

    • Turbidity and visual observations

    • Surrounding land use

  • Maintain a chain of custody for all samples.

  • Field blanks and duplicates

  • Randomise sample collection order where possible to prevent time-of-day bias.

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🤝 Engagement opportunities with the community

  • ​Citizen science opportunities with the aid of Inter Parish Water Quality groups

  • Collaborate with local farmers, landowners, and river trusts.

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📊 Data Use and sharing

  • Map contamination hotspots via GIS

  • Compare upstream/downstream impacts

  • Data filled story maps and visual dashboards

Videography: Catching the Flow—Above and Below​​

 

We will use immersive videography to make our rivers, streams, and estuaries more visible—and more valued. From drone flights over farmland to underwater glimpses beneath reeds and bridges, our footage brings local water stories to life in ways that data alone can’t.

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🛩️ Aerial Footage: Seeing the Whole Catchment

Our drone footage offers a bird’s-eye view of the entire catchment, making this often abstract concept much easier to understand. From upland moors to estuary mudflats, we reveal how water moves through the landscape—and how land use along the way can impact everything downstream.

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Aerial filming helps communities to:

  • See how rivers and tributaries are connected

  • Identify the location of key risks like livestock access, eroded banks, or poorly drained fields

  • Visualise how a single action—like fencing a stream or planting a buffer strip—can benefit a much wider area

  • Understand the sheer scale of the catchment and how local land management choices ripple out to affect biodiversity, flooding, and water quality

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By making the invisible visible, aerial views help people connect their place in the landscape to the wider health of the river.

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🤿 Underwater Footage: What Lies Beneath

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Our underwater cameras explore the often-overlooked freshwater world, revealing:

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  • Sediment levels, algal blooms, and streambed conditions

  • Aquatic life and plant growth, and, biodiversity

  • Signs of pollution such as discolouration, cloudiness, or unexpected materials

  • Estuarine habitats at the point where freshwater meets the sea

These close-up scenes deepen understanding and prompt action to protect fragile aquatic environments.

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🧑‍🤝‍🧑 For Communities, With Communities

We showcase our footage at public events, local festivals, and informal gatherings—using it as a tool to spark conversations and share knowledge. Whether it’s viewed on a screen or in immersive VR, this visual storytelling makes complex environmental issues tangible and memorable.

We're also planning a Catchment Health Summit—a space for local residents, scientists, farmers, landowners, and decision-makers to come together, explore findings, and collaborate on practical solutions.

By combining science with real-world visuals, we aim to empower communities to care for their rivers—not just as places of beauty, but as lifelines for the land and sea.

The BLUEprint Summit

 

🎤Expert panel discussions

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  • Reporting on contamination sources.

  • NbS case studies with photographic and eDNA evidence.

  • Recommendations for scaling up interventions across South Devon.

  • Identify key contamination sources and high-risk periods.

  • Inform mitigation strategies: buffer strips, fencing livestock, dog waste signage, CSO upgrades.

  • Guide further long-term monitoring and citizen science engagement.

 

🌿Criteria for NbS Prioritisation

  • Visible signs of faecal entry (e.g. cattle access).

  • Known septic tank clusters or CSOs.

  • Willing landowner participation.

  • Areas with community access and engagement potential (e.g. schools, footpaths).

  • Existing habitat corridors or SDNL alignment.

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