Phase 2 2023 -2024
Water testing remained a key component of the project during its second phase (2023–2024), complemented by a range of additional initiatives aimed at improving the overall health of the river.
Tributary water testing
Over six days in August and September 2023, 36 YDRT volunteers and staff took 162 samples from nine main tributaries running into the Wharfe upstream of Ilkley bathing water designation point. This was a collaboration between volunteer Citizen Scientists, YDRT, the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water. It helped us to gather data on bacterial levels from the major tributaries feeding into the river, focusing on E.Coli alongside standard chemistry analysis. The results built on the data gathered over the previous three years and broadened our understanding of the River Wharfe. Read more about the investigations on the Environment Agency website here.
Estate water testing
YDRT was part of a team helping the Denton Estate to establish a baseline understanding of the health of their waters. The team of experts came together from the University College London (UCL), the University of Liverpool and citizen scientists from Addingham Environment Group. Funded by Nidderdale AONB under their Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, there were two rounds of water quality testing at the Estate near Ilkley. Each set covered the length of the watercourses, from moorland to valley bottom, first in February 2023 and then repeated in August 2023. The data gathered provided the Estate with information to help steer future land management decisions for the benefit of aquatic wildlife on the Estate and downstream on the River Wharfe.
Capital Interventions
In 2023 we carried out catchment walkovers, identifying opportunities to enhance environmental outcomes. Interventions included installing river fencing and engaging with farmers throughout the catchment.
Farming Calendar
We created a farming calendar to track the effects of differing farming practices on river health throughout the year.
Septic Tanks
We distributed leaflets and advice on septic tank good practice to holiday homes and caravan parks in the area to help reduce the effects of non-mains drainage pollution.
Data Hub
We helped develop a Data Hub to facilitate the identification and sharing of data across the River Wharfe catchment. This initiative was a collaboration between the Dales to Vales Rivers Network and the national Rivers Trust, with funding provided by the Environment Agency.
Project Overview
In 2020, the iWharfe project started out as a citizen science project, working with the Addingham Environment Group, Ilkley Clean River Group and a range of other community groups to investigate the water quality of the River Wharfe, find out more here. The project was designed to provide a snapshot of water quality conditions along the entire length of the river on a single day and to raise awareness about water quality issues both for people and wildlife.
Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust adopted the project and continued monitoring in collaboration with our partners through citizen science initiatives. These included testing for faecal bacteria in 2021, assessing the ecology of the River Wharfe in 2022, and conducting tributary sampling in 2023.
Phase 1 2020 - 2022
Sampling Reports
Following the mass sampling days in August 2020 and 2021, we published a series of reports covering both the main river (iWharfe 2020 Microbiology Report, iWharfe 2020 Nutrients Report, iWharfe 2021 Report) and its tributaries (iWharfe 2021 Tributaries Report). In 2021, we also used a citizen science approach to investigate faecal bacteria in Upper Wharfedale (iWharfe Upper Report) and in 2022 we looked in more detail at the ecology of Wharfe between Addingham and Otley (iWharfe Eco-Ashlands Report).
Flyer
To see a brief summary of the sampling and a full list of partners and funders download our promotional flyer.
Posters
We designed a project poster to publicise the iWharfe sampling event on social media. There is one general poster for the project as a whole and five posters customised for the five respective sampling zones which can all be found below.
