A River Runs Through Us
I think that you may all agree that one of the things that makes the Parish of Luddington such a special place to live, apart from the lovely people, is the river that runs through it. There are footpaths along it and wildlife you would not see if there was no river such as kingfishers, ducks, swans, otters, water snails, dragon/damsel flies etc and fish (when the water is clear enough).
The health of the river is vital to the survival of these creatures, and ours. A group has got together to keep a check on the health of the river. This project runs from Stratford to Tewkesbury, where the River Avon joins the River Severn.
We take it in turns to go out once a week to test for the level of Nitrates, Phosphates, and Electrical Conductivity. All of these matter as far as gauging the health of the river is concerned.
Some of you may have seen the results of our testing on the Parish Notice Boards. The water is showing as not that healthy with an excess of phosphates and nitrates. Further upstream it appears that people have suffered with e-coli from swimming in the river. Anyone having concerns about these results the best person to contact is our MP, Manuela Perteghella on manuela.perteghella.mp@parliament.uk, who has already pledged to take the matters up in Parliament.
In the mean time we would welcome anyone else who would be prepared to join our small group to regularly commit to testing the river health. We also would welcome any younger people/children who would like to join us when we river test so that they can get a better understanding and enjoyment of our beautiful river.
Please contact the Parish Clerk at clerk@luddingtonparishcouncil.gov.uk for further information. She will put you in touch with one of the river testing team.