Water Quality Impact Assessment – Kent

Southwest Environmental Limited wear commissioned by a client from the Midlands, to undertake a Water Quality Impact Assessment in Kent. The assessment was for a proposed activity in a water body, where the water quality of said water body was very important to various stakeholders.

Luckily there was pre-existing monitoring data available from a pre-existing site which was utilised to form a baseline study.

The main risk from the activity was judged to be biological contamination of the water body. However, all the potentially impacted stakeholders would like not be affected owing to treatment of the water prior to use that would eliminate the biological contamination.

E Coli – A common Marker for Coliforms

The Water Quality Impact Assessment also identified that the baseline levels of pathogens within the water body as existing were relatively high, this was likely to introduction for farm land and water fowl. As the levels of these pathogens in baseline sample data fluctuated according to rainfall, which in the case of farm land / manure at least would indicate run-off as a source.