A field course survey of three English river systems

A hydrobiological field course for undergraduates in the Department of Biology, University of Salford has proved useful in investigating river pollution, and parts of the course may be suitable for upper school studies. The course compares the Lancashire rivers Lune, Ribble and Irwell, but could be adapted for still waters.

The water quality was assessed by simple chemical methods and the bacteriological quality by multiple tube and membrane filtration techniques. Chemical and microbiological assessments were then quantitatively related to the benthic invertebrate fauna in the rivers, including molluscs, dipteran larvae, oligochaete worms, leeches, stoneflies and mayflies. The Irwell was found to be grossly polluted, the Ribble mildly polluted and Lune relatively unpolluted.