Welcome to Elstow Brook Water Rangers

 I'm Richard and with my wife Anne, and the occasional help from our two grandsons, we've started to monitor the health of Elstow Brook. The brook consists of two bodies of water, an upstream and downstream section that are joined by Harrowden Brook on the lower side of the A421 near Harrowden and Shortstown. The brook continues its journey through Cardington and Cople to Willington where it joins the Great Ouse not far from Danish Camp.

Currently we test the water for phosphates, nitrates and chlorine. We also measure pH, temperature, TDS (total dissolved solids) and a few other things. We do using a test kit from an organisation called Water Rangers at four sites along the brook from Abbeyfields to Willington. We test the water on a monthly basis and upload the data to an online database. We also volunteer with the Bedfordshire Great Ouse Valley Environmental Trust doing regular water testing on the river.

Along with our regular water testing we're about to embark on a new venture as part of the Riverfly Monitoring Initiative as part of a citizen project with the Riverfly Partnership. Riverflies are invertebrates that spend part of their lifecycle in the water. There are many types of riverfly but as part of the project we will be monitoring the presence of eight flies. We're hoping to get started soon once a site has been approved.