Session 6: Water quality

Introduction

Figure 1 Sediment run-off during a flood event.

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A photograph of flooded fields.

Figure 1 Sediment run-off during a flood event.

The UK’s increasing population and agricultural intensification are causing more nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) to enter water courses. Nutrients reduce the biodiversity of aquatic and floodplain habitats. They promote the growth of algae and blue-green bacteria, which make the water unsafe to swim in or drink. In this session, you will consider water quality in terms of its nutrient concentrations, exploring how we can manage floodplains to trap and use nutrients in a positive way, including food production and habitat provision.

This session is the sixth of seven sessions on different but related topics that you might be interested in. The sessions in this course are as follows:

• Session 1: Biodiversity [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]
• Session 2: Climate change
• Session 3: Flood risk
• Session 4: Food security
• Session 5: Connection to nature
• Session 6: Water quality
• Session 7: Next steps