Oh, the glamour of wet weather working!

Today was a great day for wet-weather sampling! It rained non-stop for over 4 hours, creating urban runoff across the North West of England. This is brilliant for Stormwater Shepherds UK because our work includes data-gathering from different sources of stormwater, and that means going out in the rain. In the UK, we have a big-gap in our knowledge of pollution levels in the runoff from homes, factories, shops, roofs, roads, parks and paths so at Stormwater Shepherds UK we are working hard with a number of partners to fill that gap, and to gather data to inform drainage design decisions in the future. This photo was taken in a park in Bolton where the samples are starting to suggest that runoff from parkland is a significant source of Phosphorus pollution, so we need to investigate some more, and to consider the best stormwater management solutions. So next time it is raining where you live, take a moment to consider where the pollution may be coming from around your home & garden and if it is washing down the drains.