UK rivers contain ‘cocktail of chemicals and stimulants’ endangering aquatic life

Exclusive: Researchers find 61% of fresh waters in the UK contain high levels of phosphate and nitrate

The UK’s rivers contain a cocktail of chemicals and stimulants including caffeine, antidepressants and painkillers from water company sewage releases, polluting freshwaters at levels which can pose a risk to aquatic life, testing has found.

Results from three days of testing in rivers by 4,531 volunteers for the environmental research group Earthwatch showed that, in addition to the chemical mix in rivers, 61% of fresh waters in the UK were in a poor state because of high levels of the nutrients phosphate and nitrate, the source of which is sewage effluent and agricultural runoff. England had the worst level of poor water quality in rivers, with 67% of freshwater samples showing high levels of nitrate and phosphate.

Of the 91 samples already analysed, 100% contained caffeine, with levels in 80% of these samples presenting some risk to aquatic life, said Woods.

Nicotine was found in 25% of samples, with concentrations that present some risk to aquatic life found in 7% of samples. The antidepressant venlafaxine was found in 30% of samples analysed, with 13% of samples containing levels that posed a risk to aquatic life.

The antibiotic trimethoprim was found in 10% of samples, all at concentrations that posed some level of risk to aquatic life.

Diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, was in 11 % of samples, all of which showed some level of risk.

In 5% of samples, the fungicide tebuconazole was present as a result of agricultural runoff.

The neonicotinoid acetamiprid, used for pet flea treatment, was present in 19% of samples, all showing some level of risk to aquatic life.

Earthwatch said the results showed the strong contribution that citizen science played in presenting a clearer picture of the health of rivers.