A GROUP of volunteers have removed ‘prodigious quantities of weed’ from the flood relief channel of the River Frome surrounding the Blue House, adjacent to the Blue Boar pub.
Led by Justine Buxton from I-Phyc, a company that uses algae to clean wastewater, the task was organised by Simon Keyes of Friends of the River Frome (FoRF), working closely with David Hall, manager of the Blue House, and Frome Town Council.
The workers were joined by river friends, Richard Ackroyd, Andrew Marchant and Simon Hicks and the group was met by the Mayor of Frome, cllr Sara Butler, who thanked everyone for their hard work. I-Phyc also analysed the quality of the water during the work on Wednesday, 31st August.
“The test results will sit really well with our River Watch campaign,” said Richard Ackroyd. “Frome River Watch operates in association with the River Guardians Scheme run by the Somerset Wildlife Trust, Wessex Water and the West Country Rivers Trust.
“We have about 20 volunteers who each take regular water samples from allocated sites and test for things like nitrates and phosphates, as well as take notes on the general state of the river and tributaries in the Frome area.
“Like most rivers in the country, the River Frome suffers from regular sewage spills and farm runoff. Our data so far reflects this, with quite high phosphate levels on some stretches being recorded so far.
“The aim is to build up a reliable history of water quality so that any pollution incidents can be spotted quickly and the correct remedial actions can be taken.
“Volunteers also keep a look out for invasive species like Japanese knotweed and Himalayan balsam, as well as noting any wildlife in the area.
“We appreciate that the Environment Agency have had their funding cut drastically in the last few years, so in this way, FoRF is encouraging a bit of citizen science where ordinary people become the eyes and ears on our precious waterways and green corridors.”
Justine Buxton from I-Phyc said, “We are a natural water solutions company that is cleaning rivers and streams with our algae process.
“Friends of the River Frome asked us to test the river at three points for nitrates, phosphates, pH and dissolved oxygen – in addition to our team cleaning the river of rubbish and cutting back what has overgrown.
“We are planning to test at three different points of the river for the FoRF every quarter.”
Coffee and home-made cake was served in the Blue House garden by the trustees after the clean-up.
