The Bedford Independent newspaper has published a shocking article on the current pollution levels in the River Great Ouse.
BedsGOVET (The Bedfordshire Great Ouse Valley Environmental Trust – https://www.bedsgovet.org/) is a local community organisation that has been monitoring the water quality of the Great Ouse.
Extracts from the news article –
In 2024 the dumping of partially or untreated sewage for an outrageous 4300 hours (the equivalent of six months continuous discharging) was recorded from the two main outlets at Odell and Bedford, with the latter failing to inform the Environment Agency on over 70% of its discharges.
8 out of 16 sites tested by our volunteers on Monday, 21 July, between Turvey and Great Barford, the levels of e coli were either above or worryingly above the safe bathing standard, with Cardington Lock, frequently used by wild swimmers, recording 4000 E- coli cfus/100mls.
The full news article is available here: https://www.bedfordindependent.co.uk/monthly-column-updates-from-riverfield-community-meeting-about-river-great-ouse-water-quality/
Re-establishing a native brown trout population in the River Ivel is dependent upon a clean and healthy River Great Ouse.