A new high-tech solution could soon help pinpoint the source of pollution in UK rivers.
Researchers at the University of Brighton are leading a three-year, £950,000 project to develop a portable diagnostic tool that will identify human-derived pollution in freshwater systems.
The project is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and involves collaboration with the Environment Agency, University of Sheffield and University of Bath.
Dr Sarah Purnell, an environmental microbiologist at the University of Brighton, said: "This project aims to significantly improve how we monitor water quality.
"By using advanced DNA sequencing and bacteriophage diagnostics, we aim to deliver a tool that can quickly and accurately identify human faecal pollution.
"This will help regulators and communities make decisions to protect water resources and public health."
The diagnostic tool uses advanced DNA sequencing to detect bacteriophages - viruses that infect bacteria and are found in the human gut.
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Unlike traditional water testing, which relies on culturing bacteria in laboratories, this approach can identify the presence of human pollution more rapidly and accurately.
By enabling in-field and laboratory analysis of water samples, the technology is expected to help regulators and water service providers trace contamination to its source and target interventions more effectively.
Currently, no river in England meets the "good chemical status" set by the Water Framework Directive, and only 16 per cent are considered to have "good ecological status."
Pollutants from sewage, industrial discharges and agricultural runoff continue to impact water quality.
Professor James Ebdon, co-investigator at the University of Brighton, said: "This project is particularly exciting as it gives us an opportunity to use the latest biomolecular tools to advance an area of water quality management known as Microbial Source Tracking (MST) that our researchers have been trying to resolve for the past 25 years."
The tool will be tested in collaboration with the Environment Agency and the University of Sheffield on the River Wharfe in Yorkshire, which has faced water quality challenges due to sewage and runoff.
The project is led by the Centre for Environment and Society at the University of Brighton.
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