14. Riverbed biofilm communities as integrated indicators of ecological health

Aims: Involve people with their local waterbodies; Improve water quality

Water body: River Colne and its tribs

Project description

A one-year scientific study to assess river health based on the microorganisms that grow on the surface of the riverbed, which are known as biofilms.

In this project, we are determining how different combinations of pressures, such as pollution and habitat degradation, are impacting the biofilm community at specific locations in the Colne catchment. With expert local knowledge from ColneCAN and support from citizen scientists, we are collecting riverbed biofilm samples from locations along six rivers, which represent different combinations of pressures. Sampling is being done upstream and downstream of known and suspected point source pollution (e.g. wastewater treatment works, surface water outfalls), upstream and downstream of different land cover types (e.g. agricultural and urban) and in areas with different levels of hydrological and physical modification. By analysing the structure and function of the biofilm community, we are identifying key markers that can be used to assess pressures. The project will inform pollution mitigation and habitat restoration across all six rivers in the Colne catchment and produce a new method that could be tested in other rivers across the UK.

Location:  Various – 35+ sampling locations across six rivers:  Rivers Colne, Ver, Gade, Bulbourne, Chess & Misbourne.

Supported by a PhD student funded by the Leverhulme Trust through the Connected Waters Doctoral Programme.

Riverbed biofilm communities as integrated indicators of ecological health, Cranfield University.

Project lead: Cranfield University

Project partners: Chilterns Chalk Streams Project, , Brunel University

Contact for more information: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Project start: May 2025

Project end: March 2026

Funding source: UK Government Water Restoration Fund , Leverhulme Trust