An outfall safari is a citizen science survey method that maps and assesses pollution from pipes along rivers. It was developed by the Zoological Society of London and uses digital mapping survey apps on smartphones to record images and score the level of pollution discharging from any pipes found.
When you volunteer, you will undertake a day’s training, consisting of a theory morning that provides an introduction to pollution and how to use the online survey recording tools. This is followed by an afternoon practice survey walk to allow you to learn how to put theory into practice.
Following this, we will work with you to select a section of the river to survey and you are then added to a WhatsApp group to help coordinate the survey and share findings. You can then walk your chosen sections of river using public rights of way and spaces to check for pollution.
You might be amazed at the sort of things we find. The photos below are from some of our previous surveys.
As part of the surveying process, volunteers report any pollution they find to both the Environment Agency Pollution hotline and Yorkshire Waters Leak Line. This ensures that any issues with the sewers are investigated and, where possible, rectified by the water company, alongside the statutory regulator being informed that a problem has been found.
All the results are then collated on an interactive map by Aire Rivers Trust to summarise the results of the survey. Click on the images below for details of the individual Outfall Safaris that we have done so far.
You can help reduce pollution in our rivers in several other ways:
