11th October 2022: Britons urged to help monitor state of rivers, streams and canals

The public are being asked to take part in the first national water watch to survey rivers, streams and canals as part of a monitoring project.

The Autumn Water Watch aims to follow the success of the Big Garden Birdwatch and the Big Butterfly Count, in which hundreds of thousands of people record observations to feed into a national picture.

Over three days this weekend (14-16 October) people are being asked to visit their local river, lake or stream and make a series of observations about pollution, plastic litter, invasive species that may be present and wildlife in and around the water.