Devon MP welcomes “encouraging” meeting with Environment Agency on River Otter pollution

The MP for Honiton & Sidmouth has welcomed a move for closer working between an environmental watchdog and a group of citizen scientists, who are regularly testing pollution levels on a local river.

Richard Foord is working with members of the Otter Valley Association (OVA) and River Otter Fisheries Association, to highlight the poor water quality of the River Otter, and hosted a meeting earlier this month with the Environment Agency (EA), to closely examine the data.

The middle to lower reaches of the river have - for several years - been rated “poor” by the EA, with discharges from sewage works a major contributing factor. It is one of the most polluted rivers in Devon, particularly downstream of Honiton sewage treatment works.

Mr Foord, who also spoke last week at an Otter Valley Association meeting in Ottery St Mary, said: “The OVA has been continuing to test the Otter every two weeks at twelve locations up and down the river. This has been undertaken with volunteers for the past year; their data is frequently updated and very comprehensive.

“This data collected by the OVA, alongside information from South West Water and the Environment Agency, demonstrates that there has been no improvement in water quality over the last five years, and suggests the phosphate levels in the middle to lower reaches continue to be driven largely by sewage works discharges.”

“At our latest meeting on 1 April, Acting Area Director for the Environment Agency, Steve Marks, promised to help investigate discrepancies between the EA data and that which has been gathered by the OVA. This is encouraging.”

Peter Williams from the Otter Valley Association, said: “We welcome the opportunity to work with the Environment Agency on this issue. Well-designed citizen science, such as ours, has enormous potential in supporting the work of government organisations like the Environment Agency.

"We are pleased that the EA has confirmed that our findings will help identify where action is most needed and guide investment decisions to improve water quality."