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2nd December 2024 Environment Monitoring Results

  • Writer: Deben Climate Centre
    Deben Climate Centre
  • Jan 1
  • 2 min read

Updated: Apr 30

December Safari took place on Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd December, just before the recent rains.


E.coli - the results for December are similar to the previous month’s results with the Anglian Water STWs being the hotspots for E.coli emission. It is encouraging to see lower levels in the Rivers Lark and Fynn this time, perhaps due to stronger flow rates; we have heard that the Little Bealings STW is being upgraded as well. The River Deben above Wickham Market and Easton (including new sampling points in Letheringham and Kettleburgh) is now showing low levels of E.coli, although at Debenham, it appears that low flow and possibly run-off have led to an increase in this month’s numbers. There is no sign of any significant pollution from just above Ufford and downstream into the tidal and estuary section.


Phosphates - the Anglian Water investments at Debenham, Wickham Market and Charsfield to install phosphate stripping are all now fully operational and phosphate levels have dropped quite significantly all the way up this section of the river. The only location on this stretch where there is any significant phosphate emission is from the small Easton STW.


By contrast, in the Rendlesham to Ufford sector, the larger Rendlesham STW is emitting high phosphate levels even though, this time, the river was flooded over the outfall. Anglian Water have been allowed by Environment Agency to put back their 1.0 ppm Maximum Permitted level implementation date until March 2027 - almost 3 years after the Debenham installation date in April 2024. Anglian Water have told us that they had agreed a plan with a local landowner to install a biological/ lagoon. It appears that this plan was actually scrapped almost two years ago because the landowner decided instead to sell the land for development. This is very disappointing and we are taking up this delay with Anglian Water and the Environment Agency. We issued a more detailed Press Release on this complicated subject in December, and a copy is posted below.


Meanwhile, phosphate levels in the Lark and Fynn have fallen over the past month and those in the tidal sector are all low.


Thank you to all our citizen scientists for their help with collecting all this useful data.


Map of environmental monitoring results for E.coli along the River Deben. Results are represented by dots - approximately half are green (indicating safe bathing water) with the remainder majority orange and a few red

Map of environmental monitoring results for E.coli along the River Deben around Debenham. Results are represented by stars - the majority are orange with a few red. no point tested contained safe bathing water

Map of environmental monitoring results for Phosphate along the River Deben. Results are represented by dots -upper stretches of the deben show mostly green dots with a few red and orange mixed in, all points below witnesham and rendlesham are orange with a few red

Map of environmental monitoring results for Phosphates along the River Deben around Debenham. Results are represented by dots - most are green (indicating a "healthy river") with a few orange below Debenham

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