On World Water Day, the Drinkable Rivers Foundation has launched a global citizen study on the water quality of rivers. In doing so, the foundation draws attention to the health of rivers. That is badly needed: the quality of our rivers does not comply with European standards.
Toxic pesticides from agriculture, medicine residues and microplastics from industry are the main culprits of river pollution. It is not very likely, stakeholders will comply with the European Water Framework Directive in 2027..
Wanted: researchers
In order to carry out the research and collect data for a representative study, trained citizen researchers are needed. They will all have a professional measuring kit that measures 25 different parameters. Li An Phoa, founder of Drinkable Rivers and AIWW PAC member: “If any of the members of the AIWW Community can be of assistance: please get in touch with us! This can be a single researcher, a team or hub within an organization or even an entire organization.”
The ambition is to launch the study is being launched with forty teams in fifteen countries. This number is expected to grow rapidly. “Every week we receive new requests,” says Li An. “More and more people realise that we can no longer continue to pollute scarce fresh water. This programme does not only contribute to increasing awareness of the importance of fresh water, it also provides a lot of useful data.”
Send an email to data@drinkablerivers.org if you want to contribute to this study as a researcher.
Key role for data
The survey results are collected on a data platform that was specially developed for this purpose by the European data management specialist Nucleoo. Phoa: “Our volunteers will enter their research results with their smart phone into the data platform, which will allow us to perform thorough analyses and gain useful insights.”
According to Pieter Aarts, general manager of Nucleoo, many small organisations find it difficult to make the best use of their data. “We support some non-profits and thus make our contribution to tackling society’s most pressing problems. With our platform, Drinkable Rivers can roll out its citizen science programme globally, develop flexible algorithms and create customised reports.”
About Drinkable Rivers
The Drinkable Rivers Foundation strives for a world with drinkable rivers. The health of rivers is the ultimate measure of the health of all living beings. Because when rivers are drinkable, the entire river basin, and all life within it, is healthy and in balance. The foundation mobilises people with inspiring river walks. Besides the global citizen survey, the foundation also runs an international mayors’ network for drinkable rivers.
About Nucleoo
Advanced data management is crucial to the success of organisations today. The world’s most successful companies all have a business strategy that puts data first. By delivering relevant data insights and predictions, Nucleoo increases revenue, reduces costs and cuts time-to-AI from months to days.
