The RFCA, Hodder Consultative and the Ribble Rivers Trust have worked collectively with United Utilities and the Environment Agency over the past two to three years to establish robust benchmark water quality data on the River Ribble and River Hodder – work undertaken on behalf of the angling community and wider stakeholders as part of our ongoing commitment to the HARP Project (Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme).
With Strabag now appointed as the main HARP contractor, operational control of the monitoring sondes has passed to them. The RFCA would like to thank Strabag for kindly allowing this data to be shared publicly. The dashboard below was developed by the RFCA to present Strabag’s real-time sonde readings in a clear, accessible format – updated every few minutes.
Understanding the Readings
Each sonde measures a range of water quality parameters in real time. Here is a brief guide
to what each one means for river health:
- Temperature (°C) - Water temperature affects fish metabolism and oxygen levels. Barbel and other species are sensitive to sudden changes.
- Dissolved Oxygen (% and mg/L) - Essential for fish survival. Low DO can indicate pollution events or algal activity.
- Turbidity (NTU) - A measure of water clarity. Rising turbidity often indicates sediment following rainfall or a disturbance upstream.
- pH - Normal river pH sits between 6.5 and 8.5. Values outside this range can stress fish.
- Conductivity (µS/cm) - Indicates dissolved mineral content. Sudden spikes can signal pollution or changes in water source.
- Ammonium (mg/L) - A key pollution indicator. Elevated levels may point to agricultural runoff or sewage.
- River Level (m) - Gauge readings from upstream and downstream monitoring points.
Readings are displayed with colour-coded status indicators – green for normal, amber for elevated, and red for levels that may warrant further investigation. These thresholds are indicative and are used by the RFCA monitoring team to prioritise follow-up.
If you observe anything of concern on the river, please take two steps:
Report it to the Environment Agency incident hotline: 0800 80 70 60
Data is provided for information purposes. The HARP monitoring programme is funded as part of the United Utilities Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme.