tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/river-thames-9011/articlesRiver Thames – The Conversation2023-10-20T15:18:37Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2161102023-10-20T15:18:37Z2023-10-20T15:18:37ZStraw bale hung from London’s Millennium Bridge to comply with ancient law – just part of the River Thames’ long, legal history<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/oct/05/millennium-bridge-london-closure-three-weeks-repairs">Maintenance workers</a> on London’s <a href="https://www.bolton.ac.uk/assets/HoldingPage/CIE6010-0604463-Poster-2019.pdf">Millenium Bridge</a> – which spans the River Thames – <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/oct/18/millennium-bridge-workers-forced-to-hang-straw-bales-after-ancient-bylaw-triggered">have hung</a> a bale of straw from the bridge’s undercarriage. </p>
<p>An ancient byelaw requires that a bridge’s owner warn passing ships of any reduction in headroom beneath the bridge with a white light at night and, during the day, a straw bale, <a href="https://secretldn.com/bale-hay-millennium-bridge-tradition/">“large enough to be conspicuous”</a>, suspended from its span. </p>
<p>The City Bridge Foundation, which has, <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2023/10/17/this-is-why-a-bale-of-hay-is-dangling-below-the-millennium-bridge-in-london-19680311/">in its own words</a> “been bridging London for a long time”, duly complied, sourcing a bale from an <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/bale-of-hay-millennium-bridge-b2431670.html">Essex farmer</a>. This practical provision is just one survivor of the river’s long history as a distinct jurisdiction with its own laws and customs.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1714282052584112285"}"></div></p>
<p>For centuries, London Bridge was the last bridge crossing the Thames before the sea. The <a href="https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C142">High Court of Admiralty</a> held authority over the bustling wharfs and quays downriver. </p>
<p>The business brought before the court reveals just how crowded the Thames was. Cases often dealt with collisions between ships and damage or loss to cargoes incurred during transfer from larger seagoing vessels to the lighters and boats ferrying them ashore. </p>
<p>In one particularly unusual case that came before the High Court of Admiralty in 1643, a pet “Munkye or baboone” broke out of a ship’s cabin and leapt and skipped across six neighbouring vessels. Reaching the seventh, named Good Successe, it entered the “Cookeroome” and bit an 18-year-old sailor on the shoulder. The boy promptly sued the animal’s owner for loss of earnings.</p>
<p>That sort of incident was rare. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01440368608530853">Research</a> and archival records show that the river was, nonetheless, a dangerous place to work. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A historic drawing of the river Thames." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554992/original/file-20231020-27-oic45g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554992/original/file-20231020-27-oic45g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=172&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554992/original/file-20231020-27-oic45g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=172&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554992/original/file-20231020-27-oic45g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=172&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554992/original/file-20231020-27-oic45g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=216&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554992/original/file-20231020-27-oic45g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=216&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554992/original/file-20231020-27-oic45g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=216&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Drawing of London Bridge from a 1682 panorama.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Bridge#/media/File:London-bridge-1682.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During the 17th century, the High Court of Admiralty acted as coroner for those who drowned downriver of London Bridge. Both naval and commercial ships carried cannons and gunpowder, so fires and explosions sometimes occurred. </p>
<p>The rule of law was not universally respected in the docklands. When admiralty officials came to arrest a sailor, it was not unheard of for their crewmates to fight back and help the suspect to escape.</p>
<p>Another important institution was the <a href="https://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/">Trinity House of Deptford</a>. Established by royal charter in 1514, it is still in existence today (although its premises moved to Tower Hill during the seventeenth century). </p>
<p>Originally a guild of shipmasters and merchants, the Trinity House <a href="https://archive.org/details/trinityhouseofde0000harr">regulated matters</a> like licenses for river pilots (pilotages) and providing ballast (ballastage) to outgoing ships on the river. It also assisted the government in naval and maritime affairs, including through examinations and certificates for navigators. </p>
<p>The Trinity House held its own guild court, the <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=eebo2;idno=A46594.0001.001">charter of which</a> lays out the authority it had to “make, ordain, and constitute reasonable Laws, Constitutions, Orders, and Ordinances [which] shall bind all the said Guild, Fraternity, or Brotherhood, and all other Seamen and Mariners of the said River of Thames”. </p>
<p>One set of Trinity House “by-Laws and Orders”, <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=eebo2;idno=B08605.0001.001">from 1661</a>, ordered sailors not to “Swear, Curse, or Blaspheme, be Obstinate and Stubborn, tell a Lye, absent himself from Prayers, [or] be Drunk”. Anyone who contravened this order was liable to a fine, which the Trinity House put towards charity to poor members. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An historic oil painting depicting a frozen river in the 17th century." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554999/original/file-20231020-29-bdvzz3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554999/original/file-20231020-29-bdvzz3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554999/original/file-20231020-29-bdvzz3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554999/original/file-20231020-29-bdvzz3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554999/original/file-20231020-29-bdvzz3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=626&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554999/original/file-20231020-29-bdvzz3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=626&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554999/original/file-20231020-29-bdvzz3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=626&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Frost Fair on the Thames, with Old London Bridge in the distance, unknown artist, 1684.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:335">Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A major thoroughfare</h2>
<p>According to John Stow’s <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=eebo;idno=A13053.0001.001">Survey of London</a>, published in 1598, some 2,000 boats worked by 3,000 “poor men” ferried passengers around. These activities were regulated by the <a href="https://watermenscompany.com/">Company of Watermen</a>, founded in 1555, who transported people. </p>
<p>From 1700, they were joined by the <a href="https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/blog/library-archive/closer-look-thames-lightermen-watermen#:%7E:text=Lightermen%20carry%20goods%20%2D%20they%20lighten,Lightermen%20of%20the%20River%20Thames.">Thames Lightermen</a>, whose job it was to offload ships and get the goods to shore via smaller vessels. </p>
<p>This guild, like the Trinity House, organised its own apprenticeships and court. It governed the conduct of its members, especially to prevent danger to passengers. </p>
<p>The Company of Watermen also tried to protect its members’ interests. It vociferously objected to proposals for any new bridge across the river, which it saw as a threat to members’ trade. So too, when London’s playhouses moved from Southwark to the City in the early 1600s, thereby reducing the river traffic in theatregoers. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An archival watercolour showing a procession of boats on the River Thames." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554997/original/file-20231020-19-6qsloq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554997/original/file-20231020-19-6qsloq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554997/original/file-20231020-19-6qsloq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554997/original/file-20231020-19-6qsloq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554997/original/file-20231020-19-6qsloq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554997/original/file-20231020-19-6qsloq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554997/original/file-20231020-19-6qsloq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An aquatint print depicting a procession of Watermen and Lightermen, in support of Queen Caroline, by Francis Vincent, 1820.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/345336001">The Trustees of the British Museum</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Curator and researcher Hannah Stockton <a href="https://rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/area.12465">has shown</a> how the Thames remained busy into the 18th century and beyond. It was <a href="https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?id=t17250513-53-off258&div=t17250513-53">considered</a> a “common highway” under the law of highway robbery. Such crimes were taken more seriously than other robberies, because they interfered with the freedom to travel.</p>
<p>During the 19th and 20th centuries, the docks, shipping and bridges over the river all multiplied. The prosperity and expanded population this brought to London came with challenges. </p>
<p>In 1798-1800, the Thames River Police was formed. Still going today, as the <a href="https://www.met.police.uk/car/careers/met/police-officer-roles/police-constable/overview/roles-and-opportunities/marine-policing-unit-mpu/">Marine Policing Unit</a> within the Metropolitan Police (and still based at the same site in Wapping), it is possibly the oldest police force in Britain whose remit extends beyond the boundaries of a single borough or city. </p>
<p>The Port of London Act of 1908 led to the establishment of the <a href="https://www.pla.co.uk/">Port of London Authority</a> in 1909. This provided a single organisation to oversee river traffic and docks. It merged the private police forces that had previously been managed by individual dock companies. </p>
<p>Today the Port of London Authority manages river traffic and navigational safety, among other things. Presumably it will have advised all Thames pilots to watch out for a bale of straw dangling from a bridge, just as their predecessors would have done in generations past.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216110/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The author would like to acknowledge research input from Dr Hannah Stockton, curator at the National Maritime Museum. </span></em></p>The river Thames, like any large body of water, is a distinct jurisdiction with its own laws, customs and histories.Richard Blakemore, Associate Professor in Social and Maritime History, University of ReadingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2040112023-04-24T13:32:39Z2023-04-24T13:32:39Z‘Noisome stinking scum’: how Londoners protested river pollution in the 1600s<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521856/original/file-20230419-26-po7kx1.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5240%2C672%2C3957%2C1497&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">London imagined from above by artist Claes Jansz. Visscher, in 1616.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:London_panorama,_1616.jpg">wiki</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The UK government and water companies have recently been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/31/raw-sewage-spilled-english-rivers-824-times-day-last-year">heavily criticised</a> for allowing raw sewage and <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/phosphorus-pollution-river-target-clean-it-up-cc9789fkt">other pollutants</a> to spill into the nation’s waterways. </p>
<p>While a recent flurry of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/06/england-river-bathing-area-applications-foi-requests">stories</a> and <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/environment/uk-rivers-20-high-risk-pollution-chemicals-sewage-plastic-wildlife-trusts-2174378">reports</a> could make this crisis feel very new to us, river pollution and concerns over it have a long history. This is something I have uncovered while doing a PhD focused on <a href="https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/eportfolios/danielgettings">attitudes to water in England between 1550 and 1750</a>, a period historians refer to as “early modern”. My research shows that, even in the era of Shakespeare’s “<a href="https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/shakespeares-london">filth-clogged</a>” Thames, river pollution was far from acceptable.</p>
<p>Precisely when the first river protection laws emerged in Britain is not clear, though we know that Roman law contained regulations <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-roman-studies/article/fresh-water-in-roman-law-rights-and-policy/548B1C559B3D6ACEDF50C4576DD14603">with fines for polluting</a> water, so early ideas may have been brought over through their occupation.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521857/original/file-20230419-18-qkeeqg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="old map of London river" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521857/original/file-20230419-18-qkeeqg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521857/original/file-20230419-18-qkeeqg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1723&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521857/original/file-20230419-18-qkeeqg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1723&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521857/original/file-20230419-18-qkeeqg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1723&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521857/original/file-20230419-18-qkeeqg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=2165&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521857/original/file-20230419-18-qkeeqg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=2165&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521857/original/file-20230419-18-qkeeqg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=2165&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Detail from the ‘Copperplate’ map of London in the 1550s, showing the River Fleet flowing through London to the Thames.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Copperplate_map_Fleet.jpg">wiki / Saunders and Schofield (eds), Tudor London: a map and a view (2001)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>From as early as 1489, protections for rivers were starting to take on language that made clear that preservation was a chief concern. An act <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000017915526&view=1up&seq=563">from the first years of Henry VII’s reign</a> made the Thames and its protection the domain of the mayor of London as its “conservator”. </p>
<p>This usage in the context of the Thames represents, according to academics <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Man_and_the_Natural_World/qACGVWiq8SIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover">Keith Thomas</a> and <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Environmental_Degradation_in_Jacobean_Dr/o3W47yAw2fQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover">Bruce Boehrer</a>, the first use of the idea of “conservation” in the English language in relation to protecting the natural world.</p>
<p>But this was far from a new idea. When challenged on his right to the river by later kings in the 1500s, the then mayor pointed out that “<a href="https://archive.org/details/b30454554_0001/page/32">conservation and correction</a>” of the Thames had fallen to city leaders since at least 1407. </p>
<p>Pollution of the river was a key concern, and this “conservation” was specifically defined in terms of preventing people from “annoying” the river by <a href="https://archive.org/details/b30454554_0001/page/34">casting “any Soil, Dust, Rubbish, or other Filth into it.”</a></p>
<p>Despite these restrictions, Tudor London clearly did cast “other Filth” into its rivers. The Fleet river (left) was a <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Environmental_Degradation_in_Jacobean_Dr/o3W47yAw2fQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover">“notorious”</a> sewer by the 17th century, and as the map shows, it flowed directly into the Thames. </p>
<p>The author Ben Jonson, whose house was near the Fleet, took the state of the river as inspiration for his poem <a href="https://hollowaypages.com/jonson1692epigrams.htm">“On the Famous Voyage”</a> which paints a nauseatingly vivid picture of the waterway’s condition through a mock voyage down it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Your dainty Nostrils (in so hot a Season,
When every Clerk eats Artichokes and Peason,
Laxative Lettuce, and such windy Meat)
Tempt such a passage? when each Privies Seat
Is fill’d with Buttock? And the Walls do sweat
Urine, and Plasters? When the Noise doth beat
Upon your Ears, of Discords so unsweet?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Increasingly however, the state of rivers like the Thames came under criticism. Thomas Powell lamented the river’s treatment in a <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A55567.0001.001/1:4?ALLSELECTED=1;c=eebo;c=eebo2;g=eebogroup;hi=0;rgn=div1;singlegenre=All;size=25;sort=occur;start=1;subview=detail;type=simple;view=fulltext;xc=1;q1=A+sanctuary+for+the+tempted">1679 religious work</a>, suggesting people treated God in a similar way to the river: poorly. “The Thames brings us in our Riches, our Gold, Silks, Spices: and we throw all our filth into the Thames”.</p>
<p>There were also specific health concerns. John Evelyn’s 1661 work <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A38788.0001.001?c=eebo;c=eebo2;g=eebogroup;rgn=full+text;view=toc;xc=1;q1=Fumifugium">Fumifugium</a> criticised the polluted air in the capital. Part of the complaint was the damage that Evelyn claimed polluted air was doing to the water both in the city, and to those who lived downstream who he said emerged after bathing covered in a “web” of dust and grime.</p>
<p>Evelyn’s issues with the air highlight the importance of smell <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Aroma.html?id=reej6W7PgXEC&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y">in early modern understandings of disease</a>. If “corrupt” or “putrid” air was key to the spread of illness, the stench of the River Fleet was not only unpleasant – it was life threatening. </p>
<p>The threat of pollution therefore took two forms. There was the waste that ended up in the river, and the smell that resulted from it.</p>
<p>Both dangers appeared in those scenarios where authorities did step in and take action against polluters. In 1627, a case was brought by London residents <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A13053.0001.001/1:2?ALLSELECTED=1;c=eebo;c=eebo2;g=eebogroup;rgn=div1;singlegenre=All;sort=occur;subview=detail;type=simple;view=fulltext;xc=1;q1=The+survey+of+London+containing+the+original,+increase">against a house that made “allom”</a>. Alum, as it is known today, was produced through the “boiling of urine” and the complaints were aimed at the “noisome stinking scum of a frothy substance” that it was dumping into the water. </p>
<p>Both the smell and contamination were claimed to have “cast many of [the nearby residents] into extremity of great sicknesses” and the building was shut down. Perhaps a more effective <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/environment-agency-united-utilities-river-pollution-damage-2215714">response than the UK manages today</a>.</p>
<p>You might think that this was as bad as it could get, but <a href="https://ota.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/repository/xmlui/handle/20.500.12024/A36048">a 1696 pamphlet</a> suggested that the Thames was actually better off than most English rivers, which enjoyed fewer protections and in contrast were “choaked up with Filth”.</p>
<p>In a world without permanent sewage or waste disposal systems, it is perhaps unsurprising that some early modern rivers ended up in the state they did despite legal protections. But the reaction to their pollution shows us that, even in a time with limited alternatives, this scenario was not simply accepted without complaint.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204011/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Gettings does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Even in a time with limited alternatives, polluted waterways were not simply accepted without complaint.Daniel Gettings, PhD Candidate, Department of History, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2032522023-04-13T11:39:36Z2023-04-13T11:39:36ZMicroplastics: 77% more found in River Thames during lockdown may be due to discarded face masks and PPE – research shows<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519852/original/file-20230406-217-pe1o27.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C310%2C5168%2C3135&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Oxana A / shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>At a first glance the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to have a positive impact on the environment, with significant decreases in greenhouse gas emissions, and transport-related noise, <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-lockdowns-effect-on-air-pollution-provides-rare-glimpse-of-low-carbon-future-134685">air and light pollution</a>. </p>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X23001947?via=ihub">our research</a> found discarded face coverings and other personal protective equipment (PPE) are likely to be the cause of a rise in microplastics entering the environment. </p>
<p>Microplastics are particles <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/microplastics.html">less than 5 millimetres long</a> that break off from larger plastics, often consumer products or industrial waste. A few years back, my colleagues and I began investigating how many of these particles were making their way into London’s River Thames. We continued sampling the river every month between May 2019 and May 2021, right through the various lockdowns. We obviously didn’t start the project with COVID in mind, but our work became a useful way to track one environmental impact of the pandemic.</p>
<p>One key finding from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X23001947?via=ihub">our research</a> is that, although there was a 34% decrease in microplastics from pre-COVID levels in the river during lockdown one, levels rose by 77% during the second national lockdown in late 2020 compared to lockdown one.</p>
<p>We suspect this pattern will have been repeated elsewhere, since many of the world’s major rivers pass through rural areas to enter major cities before flowing into the sea. The River Thames can, therefore, be a case study for similar rivers especially within the rest of Europe.</p>
<h2>Measuring microplastics</h2>
<p>We took three one-litre samples each month at high tide at five points along the Thames in and around London. Our sample sites were Teddington Lock, in an upstream suburb, St Katharine Docks and Limehouse, both in built-up urban areas, and Tilbury and Southend-on-Sea, both downstream of the city.</p>
<p>We then filtered the water and scanned it with a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/light-microscope">microscope</a> to measure the levels of tiny plastic particles. In all, across the two years, five sites and 354 litres, we found a total of 4,480 microplastics. </p>
<p>That works out to an average of 17.6 pieces per litre. The highest levels were during lockdown two when there were 27.1 pieces per litre.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519856/original/file-20230406-18-brq8q9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Microscopic images of plastic" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519856/original/file-20230406-18-brq8q9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519856/original/file-20230406-18-brq8q9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=711&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519856/original/file-20230406-18-brq8q9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=711&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519856/original/file-20230406-18-brq8q9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=711&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519856/original/file-20230406-18-brq8q9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=893&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519856/original/file-20230406-18-brq8q9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=893&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519856/original/file-20230406-18-brq8q9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=893&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Examples of microplastics the author found in the Thames. A) Blue and black fibres found at Teddington Lock June 2019. B) Red fragment found at Southend-on-Sea March 2021, C) Blue fragment found at Tilbury Fort February 2021. D) Fibres found at Tower Bridge January 2021, E) Red fragment and black fibres found at Limehouse, November 2020. F) Red fragment found at Southend-on-Sea January 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X23001947?via=ihub#f0010">Ria Devereux et al</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Microfibres made up 82% of the microplastics overall, and almost all of those we found during lockdown two. These are the most common form of microplastics and usually come from clothing like socks, T-shirts and jumpers made of polyethylene. </p>
<h2>Rise caused by face masks</h2>
<p>We believe the spike was therefore caused by PPE, especially disposable face masks which are made of a mixture of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7381927/">polyethylene and polypropylene</a> and other types of plastics.</p>
<p>One study found these masks release at least <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969721032010">24,300 microplastic fibres per wash</a>, and if everyone in the UK used one face mask daily for a year, it would produce <a href="https://ucl.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000022">66,000 tonnes</a> of unrecyclable and contaminated plastic waste.</p>
<p>This wouldn’t have been such a problem – at least in terms of microplastic pollution – if the masks had been disposed of properly in bins. But unfortunately face masks littered on pavements or left abandoned on public transport became a common sight, while people often accidentally washed their single-use masks. Even reusable masks, which may also be made from plastics, were supposed to be worn and then washed daily according to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-wear-and-make-a-cloth-face-covering/how-to-wear-and-make-a-cloth-face-covering">government guidelines</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519859/original/file-20230406-217-ceanl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Face masks and gloves in water" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519859/original/file-20230406-217-ceanl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519859/original/file-20230406-217-ceanl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519859/original/file-20230406-217-ceanl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519859/original/file-20230406-217-ceanl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519859/original/file-20230406-217-ceanl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519859/original/file-20230406-217-ceanl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519859/original/file-20230406-217-ceanl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Too many masks were left to shed microplastics into the water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mikhaylovskiy/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tyre particles decreased consistently over the first two lockdowns as only key workers were permitted to work and travel, and therefore car journeys came down. However, by lockdown three they had risen once again coinciding with hotels, pubs and restaurants reopening.</p>
<p>During the first lockdown, we recorded higher levels of microplastics in Limehouse even as they decreased elsewhere, perhaps as the area is close to a marina with residential and leisure moorings. Teddington recorded high levels of microplastics in between lockdowns, as people were swimming and using boats in the river, which led to authorities <a href="https://richmond.nub.news/news/local-news/beach-on-the-thames-closed-this-weekend">barricading the area and its beach</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519855/original/file-20230406-14-dvlhzv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Twigs and litter, bridge in background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519855/original/file-20230406-14-dvlhzv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519855/original/file-20230406-14-dvlhzv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519855/original/file-20230406-14-dvlhzv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519855/original/file-20230406-14-dvlhzv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519855/original/file-20230406-14-dvlhzv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519855/original/file-20230406-14-dvlhzv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519855/original/file-20230406-14-dvlhzv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Plastic pollution at low tide near Hammersmith Bridge in west London.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Carina S / shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By the third lockdown overall microplastic levels had reduced to 5.5 pieces found per litre. However, specific microplastics such as polypropylene, the material recommended in <a href="https://theconversation.com/polypropylene-the-material-now-recommended-for-covid-19-mask-filters-what-it-is-where-to-get-it-149613">face coverings and PPE</a>, were higher during lockdown three and the post-COVID sample and may be attributed to existing microplastic pollution continuing to breakdown in the water.</p>
<h2>Blue fibres increased the most</h2>
<p>The most common colours we found throughout this study were blue, black, red and transparent, which is consistent with the microplastics I found when assessing pollution caused by <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X22002168">New Year fireworks in London</a> or the particles found in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749116314816">stomachs of fish in the Thames</a>. However, the sorts of blue fibres released by face masks generally increased throughout the two years of our study. For example, blue fibres increased from 2% of those found in Southend pre-COVID to 30% in lockdown two.</p>
<p>We may not see the full impact of the pandemic on plastic pollution for some years as masks and gloves are continuing to degrade and release particles into the environment. But the good news is that our work has shown that changing public behaviour really can help the environment. It’s an extreme example, but just look at how microplastics decreased in lockdown one.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203252/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ria Devereux does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Researchers took samples of the River Thames for two years to track levels of microplastics.Ria Devereux, PhD Student, Microplastic Pollution, University of East LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2003222023-02-23T13:32:19Z2023-02-23T13:32:19ZTo clean up England’s rivers we need to know how much sewage is dumped – but water firms won’t tell us<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511994/original/file-20230223-730-g02p1o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4025%2C2667&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A sewer overflow maintained by United Utilities that flows into the River Tame in Greater Manchester.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jamie Woodward</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>UK environment secretary Thérèse Coffey has demanded that water companies share plans for how they will <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coffey-water-companies-show-us-your-improvement-plans">reduce sewage discharges into rivers</a>. They could start by coming clean on how much sewage is being dumped. If we don’t know how much sewage is actually being released – for at least the worst offending locations – we won’t be able to measure environmental and industry improvement with any confidence.</p>
<p>Water companies in England have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/06/ofwat-attacks-water-firms-lack-of-investment-to-cut-sewage-discharges">failed to invest sufficiently</a> in wastewater treatment and sewerage infrastructure to keep pace with increasing populations and more intense rainfall. To take pressure off their sewer networks, companies allow huge volumes of untreated wastewater and sewage to be dumped into our rivers and coastal waters. </p>
<p>In the absence of effective regulation since the Environment Agency’s monitoring <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/water-pollution-sewage-environment-agency-funding-b2154848.html">budget was slashed</a> just over a decade ago, dumping sewage in rivers has contributed to a spectacularly profitable business model. Sewage pollution incidents – many of which were legal – increased <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/08/18/sewage-spills-water-firms-have-risen-29-fold-last-five-years/">29-fold</a> over five years and countless urban rivers are now effectively extensions of the sewerage network. Our rivers are running out of time.</p>
<p>Only 14% of rivers in England have “good” ecological status and this figure could fall to just 6% by 2027. In February 2023, campaigns to save Britain’s rivers were launched by <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-times-view-of-reducing-pollution-on-britains-waterways-clean-it-up-gqjhzfvb8">the Times</a>, <a href="https://inews.co.uk/opinion/editor/save-britains-rivers-why-i-new-scientist-launching-campaign-across-uk-2143486?ico=in-line_link">the Independent</a> and <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25734263-300-save-britains-rivers-why-were-campaigning-to-rescue-uk-waterways/">New Scientist</a>. </p>
<p>Water companies are under unprecedented scrutiny from the media, politicians, activists, university researchers like me and the wider public. Politicians know the sewage dumping scandal could cost seats at the next general election. </p>
<p>This is why <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/environment/government-water-firm-plan-tackling-river-pollution-storm-overflows-2158925">Coffey</a> is now demanding “every company comes back with a clear plan for what they are doing on every storm overflow, prioritising those near sites where people swim and our most precious habitats”.</p>
<h2>Mapping sewage</h2>
<p>Thames Water recently launched an interactive <a href="https://www.thameswater.co.uk/edm-map">map</a> of 468 sewer overflow locations. The map updates every ten minutes, and shows in near real time where the company is discharging untreated wastewater and sewage to rivers. </p>
<p>In the middle of January 2023, after rainfall, about one third of the Thames Water sewer outfalls were discharging and another third had done so within the previous 48 hours. The map has also confirmed that many sewage discharges take place during dry weather.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511247/original/file-20230220-14-na135k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map with red green and orange dots" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511247/original/file-20230220-14-na135k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/511247/original/file-20230220-14-na135k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511247/original/file-20230220-14-na135k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511247/original/file-20230220-14-na135k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511247/original/file-20230220-14-na135k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511247/original/file-20230220-14-na135k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/511247/original/file-20230220-14-na135k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Thames Water sewage discharge map for Sunday 15 January 2023. Red shows an overflow that has polluted a river within the previous 48 hours. Orange shows an overflow that is currently discharging. A green tick indicates no current discharge.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.thameswater.co.uk/edm-map">Thames Water</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Thames Water is the first water company to make such data across its entire region available to the public. The map highlights the staggering scale of the pollution problem and adds to a growing body of evidence showing that water companies are routinely using overflows to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60040162">dump sewage</a> and other pollutants such as <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-57092135">microplastics</a> as an alternative to treatment.</p>
<h2>We know when sewage was dumped – but not how much</h2>
<p>But as a geographer and geomorphologist who specialises in rivers and has taken a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYIbTayABbo">keen interest in this sewage crisis</a>, I know there is something missing in the data. Sewage discharges to rivers are recorded by sensors known as event duration monitors. These measure the <a href="https://www.thameswater.co.uk/about-us/performance/river-health/storm-discharge-and-event-duration-monitoring">start and end time</a> of any flow, but are rarely set up to measure the volume of that flow. </p>
<p>This leaves the data open to manipulation. Was an “event” 100 litres or 1 billion litres? 1 billion might sound far-fetched, but <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/04/sewage-sleuths-river-pollution-slow-dirty-death-of-welsh-and-english-rivers">Mogden sewage works</a> next to Twickenham Stadium discharged over 1 billion litres of sewage directly into the River Thames on each of two days in October 2021.</p>
<p>So a water company could in theory reduce the duration and frequency of discharge events – turning the above map from red to green – but still increase the total amount of sewage dumped into rivers.</p>
<p>The absence of reliable baseline data on sewage dumping is a major problem and research has shown that water companies have not reported the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60040162">full scale of their discharges</a>. </p>
<p>The Environment Agency has a poor record of sewage pollution data scrutiny and several water companies are now routinely declining environmental information requests. How can we address the biodiversity crisis and make rivers safe for recreation if we don’t have reliable data on the volumes of pollutants pumped into them?</p>
<p>People need accurate information on what is happening to their local rivers so they can identify the <a href="https://utilityweek.co.uk/a-coming-of-age-for-wastewater-management/">worst offending discharge sites</a> and hold water companies to account. The Thames map is therefore a welcome step towards increasing transparency in the water industry and rebuilding trust, but it does not go far enough. </p>
<h2>We need sewage volume data</h2>
<p>In July 2022, United Utilities, which serves north-west England, announced a <a href="https://www.unitedutilities.com/corporate/newsroom/latest-news/investment-plans-for-north-west-rivers-revealed/">£230 million investment</a> to upgrade wastewater treatment infrastructure on several rivers by 2025. The company states this will reduce the discharge of untreated wastewater and sewage into the region’s rivers by “more than 10 million tonnes a year – the equivalent of 4,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools”. </p>
<p>This is a remarkable admission of sustained sewage dumping on a colossal scale. It appears water companies can provide volumes when it suits them.</p>
<p>Water companies in England have been unwilling to calibrate their event duration monitoring sites to estimate sewage volumes. Yet they routinely collect very accurate data on the volumes of drinking water supplied to millions of homes, in order to calculate water bills. </p>
<p>The 2021 Environment Act requires them to make near real-time data about the frequency and duration of sewage discharges publicly available no later than 2025. But if the government’s plans to reduce sewage dumping are to be realised, we still need to know wastewater discharge volumes. </p>
<p>The Environmental Audit Committee made such a recommendation in its landmark <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/8460/documents/88412/default/">2022 report on river pollution</a>, but the government argued it was too expensive. If Thérèse Coffey is serious about tackling this scandal, she must reverse that decision.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200322/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jamie Woodward has received funding from research councils in the UK and Australia.</span></em></p>Thames Water has mapped its discharges in near real time. But we still need data on the volume of sewage dumped in rivers.Jamie Woodward, Professor of Physical Geography, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1968972023-01-10T04:19:04Z2023-01-10T04:19:04ZEngland may be set to flood at the end of winter – here’s why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503393/original/file-20230106-12-u03vc8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C0%2C3947%2C2635&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">England may flood in February.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/malton-england1127-young-family-being-rescued-1162753714">Steve Allen/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Within the space of a week in February 2022, England and Wales were affected by <a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/binaries/content/assets/metofficegovuk/pdf/weather/learn-about/uk-past-events/interesting/2022/2022_01_storms_dudley_eunice_franklin_r1.pdf">three severe storms</a> (Dudley, Eunice and Franklin). Persistent heavy rain led to the flooding of around 400 properties and severe flood warnings were issued for several major rivers, including the River Severn. Now, the UK Met Office is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/07/met-office-predicts-severe-flooding-across-england-in-february">predicting</a> that England is again set to experience severe flooding in February 2023 – a prediction the forecasters attribute to a global weather phenomenon called La Niña.</p>
<p>El Niño and La Niña are the two separate phases of the <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/enso/what-el-ni%C3%B1o%E2%80%93southern-oscillation-enso-nutshell">El Niño southern oscillation</a> (ENSO). This is the name given to the phenomenon of irregular <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/global-maps/MYD28M#:%7E:text=Sea%20surface%20temperatures%20have%20a,2%20to%203%20degrees%20Celsius.">annual variations</a> in sea surface temperatures (by as much as 3°C), air pressure and rainfall across the Pacific Ocean. A La Niña event is characterised by significantly lower sea surface temperatures in areas of the Pacific.</p>
<p>Further research is needed into the effects of global weather systems on winter weather in the northern hemisphere. But wide variations in Pacific sea surface temperatures can set off a chain reaction of extreme weather across the world. La Niña can destabilise atmospheric pressures in the Atlantic Ocean and lead to heavy rainfall in western Europe and the southern US. </p>
<p>But other factors may also contribute to the Met Office’s flood prediction. These include the long-term impacts of climate change and urban development in areas prone to flooding.</p>
<h2>Global weather patterns</h2>
<p>During a La Niña event, cooler water decreases the temperature of the air immediately above the sea and <a href="https://sciencing.com/temperature-affect-barometric-pressure-5013070.html">causes it to sink</a>. This creates large areas of low pressure in the Pacific Ocean which generally lead to increased rainfall in the surrounding region. </p>
<p>However, these extensive low pressure areas force pools of high pressure northwards towards Europe. This manifests initially as drier and colder weather conditions in the UK as the seasonal rains brought by low pressure rain-bearing depressions from the Atlantic are blocked by persistent high pressure conditions. </p>
<p>The first half of December 2022, for instance, marked the coldest start to a UK winter since 2010. The <a href="https://blog.metoffice.gov.uk/2022/12/30/cold-december-concludes-warmest-year-on-record-for-uk/">monthly temperature average</a> was 1.3°C lower than the December average between 1991 and 2020.</p>
<p>Powerful storms are instead likely later in the season. As the high pressure recedes and La Niña shifts jet stream patterns northwards, the usual pattern of westerly depressions is allowed to resume. Cooler-than-usual Pacific ocean temperatures in recent months have prompted scientists to predict that there is a <a href="https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.shtml">76% chance</a> that La Niña will persist until the end of February 2023. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tIJBtdagj2E?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">La Niña explained.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Favourable conditions</h2>
<p>La Niña conditions may result in heavy late winter rainfall. But the UK is experiencing increasingly extreme weather conditions all year round. The long-term impacts of this could create conditions favourable for flooding. </p>
<p>Southern England faces long periods of drought each summer. Last year, the Anglian, Thames and Wessex water supply regions all recorded their <a href="https://www.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-media/blogs/why-we-are-still-drought-despite-recent-rain#:%7E:text=Summer%202022%20(June%2DAugust),shown%20in%20the%20plot%20below">fifth-driest summer</a> since 1836. </p>
<p>This has increased the risk of flooding as ground surfaces become less permeable to rainfall infiltration. Despite recent low intensity rainfall, the risk of flooding in the areas affected by drought may still be high. Cold temperatures, like those experienced in December, may also return later this winter and further reduce the ground’s capacity to absorb water. </p>
<p>Underground, chalk aquifers dominate central and southern parts of England. These aquifers, like sponges, have a finite capacity to accept and transmit fast flowing water. Heavy rainfall may therefore be forced over land where it can flow rapidly. <a href="https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/14085/1/1_Mansour_HydrologicalProcesses_Submitted.pdf">Research</a> indicates that above ground, water can flow at up to 100 times the speed of its flow through aquifer rock. </p>
<p>This water flows into sewers and rivers and can overwhelm their natural or operational capacities. Rivers then break their banks and cause flooding. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A fence submerged in a flooded river." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503394/original/file-20230106-18-qjqw2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503394/original/file-20230106-18-qjqw2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503394/original/file-20230106-18-qjqw2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503394/original/file-20230106-18-qjqw2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503394/original/file-20230106-18-qjqw2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503394/original/file-20230106-18-qjqw2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503394/original/file-20230106-18-qjqw2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">England’s environmental conditions are favourable for flooding.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/submerged-wooden-fence-on-river-heavy-1656383137">Ceri Breeze/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Humans offer little help</h2>
<p>Several other factors also increase the likelihood that heavy rainfall this winter will cause parts of England to flood. </p>
<p>Over half of England’s major urban flooding events in early 2022 were driven by <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/292928/geho0609bqds-e-e.pdf">underground blockages</a> of dated sewerage systems. Their insufficient capacity caused them to fast become overwhelmed by debris floating in floodwater. </p>
<p>Some UK cities, such as Hull, Bristol and parts of London have also been developed on river floodplains. Land on floodplains is often cheap, flat and, as such, easy to build on. But this makes these cities prone to flooding. Flood risk mapping has revealed that <a href="https://www.gov.uk/check-flooding">19% of Gloucester</a>, a city in the southwest of England, is at risk of regular flooding.</p>
<p>Climate models are now predicting climatic changes and global weather patterns with <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2943/study-confirms-climate-models-are-getting-future-warming-projections-right/">increased accuracy</a>. But mitigating their environmental impacts often proves challenging.</p>
<p>England requires extensive infrastructure changes to reduce the threat of flooding. One option is to prohibit the construction of housing on floodplains. However, urban planning approaches such as this involve overcoming legal and regulatory barriers. </p>
<p>Another approach would be to improve sewerage capacity to account for population growth and its associated pressure on water use. Yet the completion of large infrastructural measures takes time. Various different stakeholders, including the public, must be consulted, while competing designs have to be assessed by experts and their impact modelled. It took <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-thames-barrier">15 years</a>, for example, for London’s Thames Barrier to be completed following its initial conception. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The Thames Barrier, stretching across the River Thames in London." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503395/original/file-20230106-10513-wqbkru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503395/original/file-20230106-10513-wqbkru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503395/original/file-20230106-10513-wqbkru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503395/original/file-20230106-10513-wqbkru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503395/original/file-20230106-10513-wqbkru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503395/original/file-20230106-10513-wqbkru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503395/original/file-20230106-10513-wqbkru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">London’s Thames Barrier has been in operation since 1984.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-aug-4-thames-barrier-tidal-149443685">BBA Photography/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Flood management measures also require the political will for implementation. This <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016718515000834">has not always been forthcoming</a>, particularly when flood management is considered unduly expensive or environmentally damaging. </p>
<p>For example, river dredging was long considered an <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09640568.2016.1157458?scroll=top&needAccess=true&role=tab">unsuitable flood mitigation technique</a> for the Somerset Levels in southwest England. But winter flooding in 2013-14 led to its immediate and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-29851345">ultimately successful implementation</a>.</p>
<p>In the absence of these changes, the UK should brace for a fresh wave of flooding at the end of winter. Driven by a La Niña event, but exacerbated by urban development in areas prone to flooding and the impacts of climate change, the effects could be severe. </p>
<hr>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Paul does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Met Office has predicted that England is to be affected by flooding this February.Jonathan Paul, Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Earth Science, Royal Holloway University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1954022022-11-28T16:56:11Z2022-11-28T16:56:11ZMussels are disappearing from the Thames and growing smaller – and it’s partly because the river is cleaner<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497604/original/file-20221128-533-pch8v5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C0%2C997%2C657&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The population of River Thames freshwater mussels has declined by almost 95% since 1964.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/two-large-river-mussels-on-pier-2021878166">BadPixma/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Freshwater ecosystems, including rivers, are home to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1017/S1464793105006950">10% of all known animal species</a>. Yet at the same time, they are losing their <a href="https://livingplanet.panda.org/en-GB/">species diversity</a> faster than any other ecosystem type globally. Because species of animals respond to different threats in various ways, it makes it difficult to assess the health of these river systems.</p>
<p>But the population status of species such as freshwater mussels can reveal wider trends in the ecosystem. Freshwater mussels live in riverbeds and feed by filtering algae and other organic particles from the water. As they burrow into the riverbed and remain largely stationary, they are exposed to many of the stressors threatening rivers and are therefore a useful indicator the health of the river in which they live.</p>
<p>Mussels also serve as ecosystem engineers. They maintain clear water and prevent the development of harmful algal blooms. They also promote freshwater biodiversity by providing habitat and nutrients for <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/aqc.815">riverbed invertebrates</a>. Freshwater mussels are among the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10750-017-3486-7">most threatened animal groups</a> in the world. Yet in Britain we have little information on the health of these species.</p>
<p>I participated in a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13835">recent survey</a> which evaluated the population status of freshwater mussels in the River Thames. We found an alarming deterioration in the number and size of the mussels, which could harm the health of the river ecosystem. But some of the changes we observed may be the outcome of efforts to return the River Thames to a more “natural state”. </p>
<h2>The river’s mussels under threat</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2489">One influential survey</a>, carried out in 1964, underpins much of our understanding about freshwater mussels in the River Thames. The survey was one of the first to quantitatively evaluate freshwater mussel populations. It was conducted at a site near Reading by Christina Negus, then a postgraduate researcher from the University of Reading.</p>
<p>Her research found that freshwater mussels represent 90% of living organisms by weight on the Thames’ riverbed. The survey’s findings emphasised the role of freshwater mussels as some of the river’s key species. </p>
<p>Our survey reassessed the population of freshwater mussels along the same stretch of the river and used methods identical to those used by Negus. We found that the population of freshwater mussels has declined by almost 95% since 1964. One species, the <a href="https://freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/pond-clinic/identifying-creatures-pond/depressed-river-mussel/">depressed river mussel</a>, may have disappeared entirely from the river. </p>
<p>The results of our survey also suggest that River Thames mussels are smaller than they were at the time of the original survey. Their total size and rates of growth have fallen by 10%-35% compared to 1964.</p>
<p>We also identified the presence of an invasive species of mussel, the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-are-zebra-mussels-and-why-should-we-care-about-them">zebra mussel</a>. Zebra mussels are found across Europe and North America and threaten native mussel species by settling directly on their shells, competing for food, and sometimes preventing a mussel from opening. The presence of the highly invasive Zebra mussel, which was not observed in the 1964 survey, could have contributed to the decline in the overall number of freshwater mussels recorded by our survey.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A closed zebra mussel with an orange shell marked with a zebra-like pattern." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497643/original/file-20221128-22-n9yes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497643/original/file-20221128-22-n9yes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497643/original/file-20221128-22-n9yes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497643/original/file-20221128-22-n9yes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497643/original/file-20221128-22-n9yes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497643/original/file-20221128-22-n9yes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497643/original/file-20221128-22-n9yes.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The survey recorded the invasive zebra mussel in the River Thames.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/zebra-mussels-invasive-species-that-has-1225419361">RLS Photo/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A cleaner river</h2>
<p>Lower levels of nutrients, such as phosphate, in the river may be part of the reason why mussels are smaller and slower to grow than observed in 1964. Nutrients stimulate the growth of algae, a key source of food for mussels. Reduced nutrient content could therefore lead to lower food availability for mussels and slower growth rates as a result.</p>
<p>The Thames was heavily polluted at the time of the original survey. We spoke to Negus, who recalled having a sore throat for the entire two years she conducted her survey, a symptom she attributes to the polluted river. This implies that the size and growth rates of the freshwater mussels recorded in 1964 may have increased artificially due to nutrient pollution from human sources.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497606/original/file-20221128-20-n56lpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A slick of green algae covering a pond." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497606/original/file-20221128-20-n56lpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497606/original/file-20221128-20-n56lpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497606/original/file-20221128-20-n56lpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497606/original/file-20221128-20-n56lpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497606/original/file-20221128-20-n56lpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497606/original/file-20221128-20-n56lpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497606/original/file-20221128-20-n56lpd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Algae is a food source for mussels.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/algal-blooms-due-over-phosphate-materials-1824637664">Manishankar Patra/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But since being declared “biologically dead” in 1957 due to its level of pollution, the Thames has <a href="https://www.zsl.org/natureatheart/the-state-of-the-thames-2021">recovered</a> and is now ranked among the <a href="https://www.mylondon.news/news/zone-1-news/thames-cleanest-river-world-dirty-20601885">cleanest urban rivers</a> globally. </p>
<p><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-framework/info/intro_en.htm">Tighter rules</a> around the release of sewage have resulted in concentrations of phosphate in the River Thames falling considerably since the 1960s. Viewed this way, today’s smaller mussels may be indicative of the river’s return to a more “natural” state.</p>
<h2>Changing ecosystem</h2>
<p>However, the picture is more complicated than this implies. Invasive species and broader threats to habitat, such as <a href="https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/tideway-river-bed-dredging-begins-at-deptford-creek-19-03-2020/">dredging</a> and intensive land use along the riverbank, may also have driven the decline in what were once some of the river’s most abundant animals. So these declines sound a warning about the health of the river’s ecosystems. </p>
<p>Among the mussels experiencing the greatest declines are the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/155667/4818080">duck mussel</a> and the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/155543/4796089">painter’s mussel</a>, the populations of which have declined by 98.9% and 96.8% respectively. Both of these species are generally considered common and are not listed as threatened. There are no monitoring programmes or protections currently in place for these species as a result. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Several of the species of mussel that are found in the Thames positioned on grass." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497639/original/file-20221128-14-cny4cz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497639/original/file-20221128-14-cny4cz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=284&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497639/original/file-20221128-14-cny4cz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=284&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497639/original/file-20221128-14-cny4cz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=284&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497639/original/file-20221128-14-cny4cz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497639/original/file-20221128-14-cny4cz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497639/original/file-20221128-14-cny4cz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Several of the freshwater mussel species found in the Thames – the painter’s mussel, the swollen river mussel, and the duck mussel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If our findings reflect a wider decline in the status of freshwater mussels in rivers across the UK, then we could be approaching a critical and unexpected population collapse. Such a collapse is likely to have a negative impact on freshwater ecosystems because of mussels’ role in promoting invertebrate biodiversity.</p>
<p>So while a cleaner river is positive for river biodiversity, such severe declines in these once abundant species suggest we should increase our efforts to protect these valuable yet fragile ecosystems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195402/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Isobel Ollard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new survey has revealed an alarming deterioration in the health of the River Thames ecosystem – but some of the recorded changes may be the result of a cleaner river.Isobel Ollard, PhD Researcher, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1808952022-04-21T10:56:20Z2022-04-21T10:56:20ZFrom ‘biologically dead’ to chart-toppingly clean: how the Thames made an extraordinary recovery over 60 years<p>It might surprise you to know that the River Thames is considered one of the <a href="https://www.mylondon.news/news/zone-1-news/thames-actually-one-cleanest-rivers-20601885">world’s cleanest</a> rivers running through a city. What’s even more surprising is that it reached that status just 60 years after being declared “<a href="https://thelogicalindian.com/environment/river-thames/">biologically dead</a>” by scientists at London’s Natural History Museum. Yet despite this remarkable recovery, there’s no room for complacency – the Thames still faces new and increasing <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-earths-plastic-pollution-problem-could-look-by-2040-143220">threats</a> from pollution, plastic and a rising population.</p>
<p>The Thames runs 229 miles from Kemble in Gloucestershire to Southend-on-Sea in Essex, where it flows into the North Sea. Where it bisects London, it has experienced pressures from expanding numbers of citydwellers since medieval times. </p>
<p>The river became a repository for <a href="https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lecture/transcript/download/londons-ecology-how-clean-is-the-thames/">waste</a>, with leaking cesspits and dumped rubbish reducing many of its tributaries to running sewers. Many of these small rivers now lie underneath the streets of London, long covered up to hide their foul smells: the <a href="https://theconversation.com/britains-obsession-with-the-second-world-war-and-the-debates-that-fuel-it-139497">Fleet</a>, which runs from Hampstead and enters the Thames at Blackfriars, is probably the best known. </p>
<p>The final straw was the hot <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-45009749">summer of 1858</a> – referred to as the Great Stink – when the high levels of human and industrial waste in the river actually drove people out of London. The civil engineer <a href="https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/discover/how-bazalgette-built-londons-first-super-sewer">Sir Joseph Bazelgette</a> was commissioned to build a sewage network to alleviate the problem, which is still in use today. What followed was over a century of improvements to the network, including upgrading sewage treatment works and installing household toilets linked to the system. </p>
<p>Bombings across the city during <a href="https://theconversation.com/britains-obsession-with-the-second-world-war-and-the-debates-that-fuel-it-139497">the second world war</a> destroyed parts of the network, allowing raw sewage to again enter the river. What’s more, as the Thames widens and slows through central London, fine particles of sediment from its tributaries settle on the riverbed. These were, and remain, heavily contaminated with a range of <a href="http://www.environmentdata.org/archive/ealit:388/OBJ/19000607.pdf">heavy metals</a> from roads and industry, creating a toxic aquatic environment. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Bombings during the Blitz damaged much of London's sewer system." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459078/original/file-20220421-22-6jdz59.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459078/original/file-20220421-22-6jdz59.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459078/original/file-20220421-22-6jdz59.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459078/original/file-20220421-22-6jdz59.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459078/original/file-20220421-22-6jdz59.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459078/original/file-20220421-22-6jdz59.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459078/original/file-20220421-22-6jdz59.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">WWII London Blitz East London.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WWII_London_Blitz_East_London.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For most fish to thrive, the water they live in must contain at least 4-5 milligrams of dissolved oxygen per litre (mg/l). Measurements taken during the 1950s showed that dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in the Thames were at just 5% saturation: the rough equivalent of 0.5 mg/l. That meant the river could only support a few aquatic invertebrate species like midges and fly larvae. </p>
<p>For the 20 miles of the Thames running through central London, DO levels weren’t even measurable. And from Kew to Gravesend, a 69km length of river, no fish were recorded in the 1950s. Surveys in 1957 found the river was unable to sustain life, and the River Thames was eventually declared “biologically dead”. </p>
<h2>Turning tides</h2>
<p>With considerable effort from policymakers, the river’s fate began to change. From 1976, all sewage entering the Thames was treated, and legislation between 1961 and 1995 helped to raise <a href="http://www.environmentdata.org/archive/ealit:1710/OBJ/20000756.pdf">water quality standards</a>. </p>
<p>The privatisation of water companies under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher also saw the establishment of the protective <a href="https://environmentagency.blog.gov.uk/tag/national-rivers-authority/">National Rivers Authority</a> in 1989, as well as the introduction of <a href="http://ea-lit.freshwaterlife.org/archive/ealit:377/OBJ/19001081.pdf">biotic monitoring</a>. This is a clever scoring system that measures pollution by counting the macroinvertebrates – such as mayfly, snails or water beetles – found in a river, then giving each species a score according to its tolerance to low DO levels. Low overall scores mean that the river isn’t as capable of sustaining organisms that need oxygen, so is less healthy.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A petri dish containing invertebrates" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459150/original/file-20220421-22-ggyd5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459150/original/file-20220421-22-ggyd5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459150/original/file-20220421-22-ggyd5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459150/original/file-20220421-22-ggyd5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459150/original/file-20220421-22-ggyd5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459150/original/file-20220421-22-ggyd5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459150/original/file-20220421-22-ggyd5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Running through central London, the Thames carries a number of invertebrates - including plenty of leeches.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Veronica Edmonds-Brown</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a result, one of the main turning points in the Thames’ health was the installation of large oxygenators, or “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229916303_Recent_Developments_in_Oxygenation_of_the_Tidal_Thames">bubblers</a>”, to increase DO levels. The Thames Water Authority developed a <a href="https://www.edie.net/oxygenation-of-large-water-bodies/">prototype oxygenator</a> based on a river barge in the early 1980s. This was replaced by a self-powered “Thames Bubbler” in 1988, and a third vessel was launched in 1999. Together, they’re responsible for maintaining oxygen at a level sufficient to support growing fish populations.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.zsl.org/sites/default/files/media/2018-06/The%20Thames%20Times.pdf">flounder</a> was officially the first fish species to return to the Thames in 1967, followed by 19 freshwater fish and 92 marine species such as bass and eel into the estuary and lower Thames. The return of salmon during the 1980s was a thrilling marker for conservationists, and today around <a href="https://www.marineconservationresearch.co.uk/thames-porpoise-survey/tides-times-of-the-thames/">125 species</a> of fish are regularly recorded, with exotic species like seahorses even being occasionally sighted.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A poster describing fish that can be found in the Thames" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458888/original/file-20220420-17-hqx6yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458888/original/file-20220420-17-hqx6yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458888/original/file-20220420-17-hqx6yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458888/original/file-20220420-17-hqx6yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458888/original/file-20220420-17-hqx6yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458888/original/file-20220420-17-hqx6yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458888/original/file-20220420-17-hqx6yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bream, pike, salmon, perch, dace, eel and trout are among the species that can now be found in the Thames.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/anemoneprojectors/8086248848">Flickr/Peter O'Connor</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On the surface, this recovery is remarkable. But there remain deeper, unresolved issues relating to contaminated sediments still entering the river. Although the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-19/1990s-lesson-recession-is-the-price-of-curbing-u-k-inflation">recession</a> of the 1990s saw the loss of many industries that had been pumping waste into the Thames, water pollution levels haven’t significantly fallen since. Heavy metals, for instance, can remain <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308575778_Heavy_metals_in_the_riverbed_surface_sediment_of_the_Yellow_River_China">attached</a> for many decades to clay particles in riverbeds, harming or killing organisms that consume them.</p>
<p>The majority of invertebrates cannot survive or reproduce in such a toxic environment, leaving leeches and fly larvae to dominate the river’s fauna. Other dangerous contaminants come from <a href="https://theconversation.com/hundreds-of-millions-of-microplastic-particles-could-be-flowing-into-uk-rivers-hidden-in-raw-sewage-177869">microplastics</a> and water-soluble medicines like <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/metformin/">Metformin</a> that sewage treatment works are unable to filter out. The impact of these drugs on aquatic life is unknown.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A seal swimming, with its head partly submerged" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458892/original/file-20220420-13-wz9tf8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458892/original/file-20220420-13-wz9tf8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458892/original/file-20220420-13-wz9tf8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458892/original/file-20220420-13-wz9tf8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458892/original/file-20220420-13-wz9tf8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458892/original/file-20220420-13-wz9tf8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458892/original/file-20220420-13-wz9tf8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Seals have been spotted swimming along the length of the Thames.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tambako/51883560755">Flickr/Tambako the Jaguar</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Both sewage and surface water drains across greater London are overstretched by a system originally designed for fewer than five million people but now used by over ten million. Currently, a new 25km “<a href="https://www.tideway.london/">super sewer</a>” is being constructed under London to handle this increased load. Although it’s expected to be completed by 2025, it won’t be enough on its own. More investment is also needed in new drainage infrastructure across the city to avoid damage from increasingly frequent <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00727-4">storm surges</a> and overflows if we want to avoid harming the hard-earned health of London’s iconic river.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180895/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Veronica Edmonds-Brown does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Cleaning and reoxygenating the river Thames has helped its biodiversity surge, but there’s still more to be done to make it healthy.Veronica Edmonds-Brown, Senior Lecturer in Aquatic Ecology, University of HertfordshireLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1517962020-12-17T18:55:07Z2020-12-17T18:55:07ZEurope’s natural waterways: death by a million cuts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375118/original/file-20201215-19-gjiwt8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=30%2C12%2C3995%2C2251&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Caban Coch dam, in Wales' Elan Valley, is just one of the estimated 1.2 million river barriers in Europe.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sara Barrento/Nature</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/dec/22/franz-kafka-winter-reads">works of Franz Kafka</a> often describe people trying to reach a goal but never arriving – all ways are blocked, any possible detours turn out to be impassable. Migratory fish and invertebrates in European rivers today are in a similarly Kafkaesque situation. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-3005-2">New research in the journal <em>Nature</em></a>, published December 17, reveal that on average, there are at least 0.74 barriers per kilometre of European waterway. This means that an organism can hardly travel more than 1,000 meters without being stopped by a dam, weir, culvert, sluice or ramp.</p>
<p>The movement of flowing water is the essential nature of all running water systems, from small rivulets to large rivers. But this natural movement, and especially its pulsing nature, with flood events and droughts, is too dynamic for human beings who have sought to become “master and possessor of nature” (Descartes, <a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma%C3%AEtres_et_possesseurs_de_la_nature"><em>Discours de la methode</em></a>) since their earliest days. Building bridges to cross waterways, controlling river flow to ease navigation, mastering floods, diverting water for irrigation – all of this is the high art of engineering, and a part of human culture since prehistory.</p>
<h2>At first, limited impacts</h2>
<p>Until the industrial age, humans only had local or regional influence on the environment, and these impacts were relatively limited (<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1642359315000762">Wantzen et al. 2016</a>). Still, studies indicate that even in the Middle Ages, mills constructed in tributaries of the Rhine interfered with salmon attempting to reach their spawning grounds and cut their population in half (<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27623373/">Lenders 2017</a>, <a href="https://www.elsevier.com/books/rivers-of-europe/tockner/978-0-08-102612-0">Wantzen et al. 2020</a>). Half of “very much” may still be “enough”, but for how long?</p>
<p>Today, only a few very remote rivers can flow freely (<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1111-9">Grill et al. 2019</a>), their waters inundating and fertilising natural floodplains full of fish and with flourishing vegetation, their sediments are transported downstream, build islands and even deltas in the sea. In Europe, it is hard to find such exceptions like the Vjosa River (<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10980-020-00993-y">Schiemer et al. 2020</a>), which flows from Greece through Albania to the Adriatic. Most of the rivers in the industrialised Global North as well as those in developing countries of the Global South have been fragmented into pieces that hardly flow any more, and in which sediments are blocked above dams, and their bed becomes incised by erosion.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eVm7K4Chujk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Adaptive management of barriers in European rivers (AMBER).</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The river deltas of the Ebro, Nile and Mekong are vanishing, receiving only a small percentage of the natural sediment yield from their headwaters (<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.11.361">Kondolf et al. 2018</a>). Fish searching for their spawning sites are blocked or become weakened by a series of fish passes that only few of them survive. And even if they arrive, their offspring migrating downstream struggle to survive the return trip.</p>
<p>As if there had been an invisible plan for their eradication, clandestinely executed in the past two centuries, almost all large migratory fish species worldwide have been brought to the brink of extinction (<a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6269/128.full">Winemiller et al. 2016</a>). Fascinating, living fossils like the million-year old sturgeon species can still be visited in zoos, but are rarely found in nature.</p>
<p>Other species that depend on migratory fish, such as river mussels that use them for transporting their larvae, are in peril. One example is the freshwater pearl mussel in Europe (<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-017-3456-0">Prié et al. 2017</a>. Also under threat are the guardians of the fish, the traditional fishermen (<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479716306636">Dugan et al. 2010</a> whose livelihoods depend on them. Awareness of the scale and severity of this problem has arrived only slowly in the society.</p>
<h2>Understanding the scale of the problem</h2>
<p>International treaties such as the European Water Framework Directive (<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896971835126X">Carvalho et al. 2019</a>), have given rise to efforts that may tackle the problem, by removing selected dams, creating detours or by releasing water according to natural flows.</p>
<p>The first step is to understand the dimension of the problem. How the many dams are there? Large ones, higher than 15 meters, can be seen on satellite images. In most countries, they also require construction permits, so that information can be obtained worldwide with high precision. However, smaller barriers such as low-profile dams and culverts can be (and are) built without detailed formalities, and can hardly be seen from space. Moreover, there is a dizzying confusion about expressions to name these constructions, even within a single country.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375122/original/file-20201215-13-mf077.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Europe's main rivers, with each basins indicated by a different colour" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375122/original/file-20201215-13-mf077.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375122/original/file-20201215-13-mf077.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375122/original/file-20201215-13-mf077.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375122/original/file-20201215-13-mf077.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375122/original/file-20201215-13-mf077.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375122/original/file-20201215-13-mf077.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375122/original/file-20201215-13-mf077.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=622&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Europe’s main rivers, with each basins indicated by a different color. Thickness is proportional to stream order.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided based on ECRINS data, EEA, Copenhagen</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Horizon 2020 project named <a href="https://amber.international">AMBER</a>, coordinated by Carlos Garcia de Leaniz of Swansea University in Wales, has gathered scientists from all over Europe to develop an atlas showing these barriers. In the framework of my work as the UNESCO Chair <a href="http://www.unesco-chair-river-culture.eu/">“Fleuves et Patrimoine – River Culture”</a> and as coordinator of the <a href="http://www.lestudium-ias.com/consortium/ecohydraulics-and-dam-removal">LeStudium Consortium on Ecohydraulics and Dam Removal</a>, I was able to contribute to the AMBER team of more than 50 scientists who jointly assembled the highly heterogeneous data into a unified databank for all of Europe.</p>
<p>While France has for long established a public data bank for flow obstacles, <a href="https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/les-referentiels-des-obstacles-a-lecoulement-sur-les-cours-deau-roe/">ROE</a>, the situation in other countries is more complicated. In Italy, dozens of expressions for very similar types of barriers exist, and in Spain, less than 50% of the obstacles were known. In Germany, with its federal structure, each <em>Bundesland</em> (county) has a different way of recording data. However, the <em>Länder</em> collaborate in a joint working group, the <a href="https://www.lawa.de/English-About-LAWA.html">LAWA</a>.</p>
<h2>An atlas showing all flow obstacles in Europe</h2>
<p>Once in hand, all these data were brought together into a single format with a consistent terminology, so that they were applicable to the <a href="https://amber.international/european-barrier-atlas/"><em>Barrier Atlas</em></a>, which can be freely downloaded from the AMBER website. During the time-intensive process of gathering and processing the data, we learned how the European collaboration for sustainable environmental management can be improved – the French word <em>millefeuille</em> (a thousand leaves) describes the current situation well. We also have to overcome the institutional barriers at so many levels, within and between the countries.</p>
<p>Two of the findings for our paper were particularly shocking:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>The number of barriers in Europe is far higher than we had expected, more than 1.2 million.</p></li>
<li><p>Approximately 10% of those barriers are obsolete and could be removed.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>These findings raise important questions, including how to remove the most disturbing of the 120,000 obsolete barriers, what to consider during their removal, and how to slow the ever-growing damming trend in the Global South. Scientists all over the world, including our consortium, are currently working these issues, and advances are being made.</p>
<p>Still, what’s most needed is the political will by the society to switch from a single-sided view of rivers as a mere resource to be exploited to an acknowledgement of their role as cradles of humanity, as essential life-support systems, and as biological and cultural entities to be preserved for their own nature – as part of a “River Culture” (<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1642359315000762">Wantzen et al. 2016</a>).</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The Vjosa river flows from Greece through Albania" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375185/original/file-20201215-17-yf4iaj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375185/original/file-20201215-17-yf4iaj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375185/original/file-20201215-17-yf4iaj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375185/original/file-20201215-17-yf4iaj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375185/original/file-20201215-17-yf4iaj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375185/original/file-20201215-17-yf4iaj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375185/original/file-20201215-17-yf4iaj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Vjosa river extends more than 270 km from its sources in Greece through Albania and then the Adriatic Sea. While relatively wild, its lower reaches are threatened by several large-scale dam projects.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10980-020-00993-y">Gregor Subic</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151796/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karl M. Wantzen ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>New research published in the journal Nature reveals that more than 1.2 million flow barriers exist on European rivers and that approximately 10% are obsolete.Karl M. Wantzen, UNESCO Chair River Culture/Fleuves et Patrimoine, Université de ToursLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1194002019-06-27T13:19:53Z2019-06-27T13:19:53ZMicroplastic pollution and wet wipe ‘reefs’ are changing the River Thames ecosystem<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281587/original/file-20190627-76717-9cf5sc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1000%2C667&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">London - June 19 2018: Volunteers cleaning the southern shores of the Thames from waste during low tide.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-june-19-2018-volunteers-cleaning-1186999855?src=onblU_QN6ig7sF1ck4TN5Q-1-1&studio=1">Daniel Lange/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ever since the issue was highlighted in shows like “Blue Planet 2”, plastic pollution in the world’s oceans has <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-obsession-with-plastic-pollution-distracts-attention-from-bigger-environmental-challenges-111667">generated a wave of concern among the public</a>. It might surprise people to learn that despite comparably less attention, many of the world’s rivers are just as polluted, <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/environment/river-mersey-more-polluted-than-the-great-pacific-garbage-patch-study-finds/">if not more so</a>.</p>
<p>Around <a href="https://www.eunomia.co.uk/reports-tools/plastics-in-the-marine-environment/">80% of marine litter starts on land</a> and rivers help transport it out to sea. In this way, plastic pollution is not just a problem for the distant open ocean – it’s an issue on our doorstep. For this reason, I chose to focus on the River Thames and the impact that plastics are having close to home.</p>
<p>There are currently no estimates for the amount of plastic in the Thames, but the world’s rivers are estimated to carry <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/768">up to 4,000 kg of plastic out to sea every day</a>. Despite much of the plastic in the Thames making it to the North Sea, a portion is permanently accumulating in the catchment.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281381/original/file-20190626-76730-94j7pr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281381/original/file-20190626-76730-94j7pr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281381/original/file-20190626-76730-94j7pr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281381/original/file-20190626-76730-94j7pr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281381/original/file-20190626-76730-94j7pr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281381/original/file-20190626-76730-94j7pr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281381/original/file-20190626-76730-94j7pr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A large wet wipe reef on the south bank just upstream of Hammersmith Bridge.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Katy McCoy</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Researchers recovered <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.10.035">nearly 8,500 items from the Thames riverbed</a> over three months in 2012. After 20 river cleans on the foreshore of the Thames in 2019, nearly <a href="https://www.thames21.org.uk/2019/02/the-thames-polluted-by-single-use-items/">9,000 plastic items</a> were recovered, almost all of which were single-use.</p>
<p>These were most often wet wipes, sanitary products and food packaging, which accumulate in the sediment or are deposited on the inside of bends in the river. Several members of our lab group helped with a cleanup with local environment charity <a href="https://www.thames21.org.uk/2019/04/23-thousand-wet-wipes-discovered-stretch-thames-river-bank/">Thames21</a>. On the Thames foreshore at Hammersmith in early 2019, 23,000 wipes were collected, averaging 201 wipes per square metre. You may have heard of <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-fight-the-fatbergs-we-have-to-rethink-how-we-treat-sewage-waste-84714">wet wipes forming “fatbergs” in sewers</a>, but on the banks of the Thames there are wet wipe reefs that are slowly changing the shape of the river itself.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281378/original/file-20190626-76713-1cw667g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281378/original/file-20190626-76713-1cw667g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281378/original/file-20190626-76713-1cw667g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281378/original/file-20190626-76713-1cw667g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281378/original/file-20190626-76713-1cw667g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281378/original/file-20190626-76713-1cw667g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281378/original/file-20190626-76713-1cw667g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281378/original/file-20190626-76713-1cw667g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">3 mm microplastic particle recovered from the stomach of a fish compared to a 7 mm grain of rice.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alex McGoran</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As plastics move through the aquatic environment they break up. Eventually, these particles reach a microscopic scale. I have been researching microplastics, which are items smaller than 5 mm – roughly the size of a grain of rice – since 2015 and every study I have undertaken has found plastic. I have studied two UK rivers, the Thames and the Clyde, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.09.054">fish in both estuaries have ingested plastic.</a></p>
<h2>A river of plastic</h2>
<p>As part of my PhD, I’m researching the accumulation of microplastics in the Thames food web. When I trawl in the Thames for fish the nets are full of plastic, especially tangles of wet wipes. It’s extremely rare that we bring in a net with no litter at all.</p>
<p>Despite its murky appearance, the Thames is a diverse ecosystem that’s full of life. It supports over <a href="https://londonist.com/2014/11/what-lives-in-the-thames">120 species of fish</a> as well as many marine mammals, such as grey seals, common seals, dolphins and porpoises. Even a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpusRwiT39g">beluga whale</a> was once spotted. Microplastics in the river can be ingested by all animals in the food web. Negative impacts on one part of this system can potentially cause a cascade which affects other species. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281383/original/file-20190626-76730-birsrv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281383/original/file-20190626-76730-birsrv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281383/original/file-20190626-76730-birsrv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281383/original/file-20190626-76730-birsrv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281383/original/file-20190626-76730-birsrv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281383/original/file-20190626-76730-birsrv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281383/original/file-20190626-76730-birsrv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Microplastics accumulate in greater quantities in organisms feeding nearer the top of food webs, like seals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alex McGoran</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Microplastics contain chemical additives which are <a href="https://theconversation.com/plastic-poisons-ocean-bacteria-that-produce-10-of-the-worlds-oxygen-and-prop-up-the-marine-food-chain-117493">released as they degrade</a> and can act as harmful pollutants in water. These toxic chemicals can be transferred to organisms if they ingest them. This forces the animal to use their energy to treat the problem, rather than growing, feeding or reproducing.</p>
<p>The amount of plastic in an animal’s gut is likely to increase higher up the food web that the animal feeds. If amphipods near the base of the foodweb ingest a few pieces of plastic then fish eating large numbers of amphipods – each likely to contain small amounts of plastic – would gradually accumulate more as they feed. Then seals at the top of the foodweb, which ingest lots of fish, would be exposed to a greater concentration still.</p>
<p>Though plastic straws and other single-use items have taken much of the blame, the plastic most commonly eaten by flatfish – <a href="https://britishseafishing.co.uk/thames-estuary/">a species often caught by fishers</a> – are fibres. These are long threads of plastic which originate in our fabrics. Straws may flow out to sea quicker but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.09.054">during my research in the Thames</a>, I found that 80% of all plastic extracted from animals there were fibres.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281382/original/file-20190626-76730-9tl1dz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281382/original/file-20190626-76730-9tl1dz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281382/original/file-20190626-76730-9tl1dz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281382/original/file-20190626-76730-9tl1dz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281382/original/file-20190626-76730-9tl1dz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281382/original/file-20190626-76730-9tl1dz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281382/original/file-20190626-76730-9tl1dz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Example of some of the plastic found in UK fish – here a plaice is shown with a tangle of fibres.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alex McGoran</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Hundreds of thousands of these tiny plastic fibres can drain into rivers with every use of our washing machines. Wastewater treatment plants catch the majority of these fibres, but with so many people washing their clothes in the Thames catchment area, a vast number of fibres are still entering the river and making their way out to sea. </p>
<p>Washing clothes less often and using products designed to capture fibres in the wash can prevent them getting to rivers or the sea, such as the <a href="https://guppyfriend.com/en/">guppy friend bag</a> and <a href="https://coraball.com/">coraball</a>. We may rightly fret about the impact of our plastic on life in the ocean, but it’s time we realised that the plastic pollution crisis is <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/environment/river-mersey-more-polluted-than-the-great-pacific-garbage-patch-study-finds/">a lot closer to home than we care to think.</a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/119400/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex McGoran receives funding from NERC through the London NERC DTP in the form of a research grant and stipend to support her research at the Natural History Museum, London and Royal Holloway, University of London. She also receives additional funding through a CASE partnership, organised with the London NERC DTP, with The Fishmonger's Company.</span></em></p>It’s not just the ocean we need to worry about – plastic is accumulating in the world’s rivers, too.Alex McGoran, PhD Researcher in Aquatic Pollution, Royal Holloway University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1021142018-09-27T20:19:44Z2018-09-27T20:19:44ZWill 2018 be the year of climate action? Victorian London’s ‘Great Stink’ sewer crisis might tell us<p>In the late 19th century, the irrepressible Mark Twain is reputed to have <a href="https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/04/23/everybody-talks-about-the-weather/">said in a speech</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Everybody talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>He’s said to have borrowed that quote from a friend, but if Twain were alive today he would no doubt have more to say on the subject. In a time when we are becoming increasingly accustomed to extremes in the climate system, the events of this year have risen above the background noise of political turmoil to dominate the global headlines. </p>
<p>While global leadership in dealing with climate change may be depressingly limited, I can’t help but wonder if 2018 will be the year our global tribe feels threatened enough to act. </p>
<p>Encouragingly, there may be a historical (and largely unknown) precedent for tackling climate change: Victoria London’s handling of the “Great Stink”, where growth had turned the River Thames into an open sewer.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lowy-institute-poll-shows-australians-support-for-climate-action-at-its-highest-level-in-a-decade-98625">Lowy Institute Poll shows Australians' support for climate action at its highest level in a decade</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Climate system extremes</h2>
<p>2018 is breaking all manner of records. </p>
<p>In January, the eastern USA and western Europe fell under persistent frigid Arctic conditions brought about by a weakening of the polar vortex. </p>
<p>Six months later, the north has been experiencing exceptional hemispheric-wide <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/climate-change-gobal-warming-freak-weather-explained/">summer warming and drought</a>, most likely amplified by a weakening of Atlantic Ocean circulation – the latter (ironically) being expressed by unusually <a href="https://twitter.com/rahmstorf/status/1036358788268400641">cool surface ocean waters</a>. </p>
<p>In recent weeks, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-45517260">Florence</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-45517803">Mangkhut</a> and <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/uk-weather-storm-helene-approaches-with-70mph-gusts-11499729">Helene</a> have become the latest household names to mark a succession of storms battering the USA, Asia and Europe this year. </p>
<p>Closer to home, New South Wales is now suffering a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-27/drought-continues-in-nsw-despite-weekend-rain/10166682">state-wide drought</a>, along with other regions in Australia. Early wildfires and the threat of more to come has resulted in the earliest government <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/it-s-all-bad-earliest-total-fire-bans-on-record-an-ominous-sign-20180815-p4zxn8.html">total fire ban on record</a>. </p>
<p>As the crisis deepens, it’s worth reflecting on Victorian London’s “Great Stink” sewage problem - where things finally got so bad that authorities were forced to accept evidence, reject sceptics, and act.</p>
<h2>A ‘deadly sewer’</h2>
<p>In the Victorian age, London’s growth had turned the River Thames into an open sewer. Conditions were so bad they inspired many to write on the risks to public health. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237998/original/file-20180926-149955-1eq16ep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237998/original/file-20180926-149955-1eq16ep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237998/original/file-20180926-149955-1eq16ep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237998/original/file-20180926-149955-1eq16ep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237998/original/file-20180926-149955-1eq16ep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237998/original/file-20180926-149955-1eq16ep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237998/original/file-20180926-149955-1eq16ep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237998/original/file-20180926-149955-1eq16ep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘The silent highwayman’, an 1858 cartoon from Punch magazine, commenting on the deadly levels of pollution in the River Thames.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Stink">Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Charles Dickens provided a lurid description in Little Dorrit, describing the Thames as a <a href="http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/bigstink.html">“deadly sewer”</a> while the scientist Michael Faraday <a href="https://todayinsci.com/F/Faraday_Michael/FaradayMichael-ThamesPollutionLetter.htm">wrote</a> to The Times of London that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>if we neglect this subject, we cannot expect to do so with impunity; nor ought we to be surprised if, ere many years are over, a hot season give us sad proof of the folly of our carelessness.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237996/original/file-20180926-149982-c2v25n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237996/original/file-20180926-149982-c2v25n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237996/original/file-20180926-149982-c2v25n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237996/original/file-20180926-149982-c2v25n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237996/original/file-20180926-149982-c2v25n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237996/original/file-20180926-149982-c2v25n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1031&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237996/original/file-20180926-149982-c2v25n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1031&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237996/original/file-20180926-149982-c2v25n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1031&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An 1855 cartoon from Punch Magazine in which Michael Faraday gives his card to ‘Father Thames’, commenting on Faraday gauging the river’s ‘degree of opacity’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Stink#/media/File:Caricature;_Faraday_giving_his_card_to_Father_Thames._Wellcome_M0012507.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 1854, medic John Snow demonstrated the source of cholera in the London suburb of Soho was a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Snow">local water pump</a>. To test his ideas, officials removed the handle on the pump, and the number of cases all but disappeared. </p>
<h2>Sewage sceptics</h2>
<p>But there was an intransigence about meeting the threat. Ignoring scientific evidence, “sewage sceptics” held the view that poor air quality – <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1121911/">so called “miasma”</a>– was the cause of the frequent outbreaks of cholera and other diseases. </p>
<p>They convinced the government to reject the evidence, considering there to be “no reason to adopt this belief”. The scale of the sewage problem in London was considered too large to be solved, possibly encouraged by political pressure from the thriving water industry that delivered direct to those who could afford it. For several more years, this view persisted. </p>
<p>That was until the year of the “Great Stink”.</p>
<h2>The ‘Great Stink’ arrives</h2>
<p>In the summer heatwave of 1858, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Stink">the Thames’ sewage turned noses across London</a>. Conditions were so bad, teams of men were employed to shovel lime at the many sewage outlets into the capital’s river in a vain attempt to stop the smell. </p>
<p>Even the national legislators were not spared, with the windows of the Houses of Parliament covered in lime-soaked sack cloths. Serious thought was even given to relocating government outside London, at least until the air had cleared. The conditions created a heady stench that cut through the politically charged rhetoric of the day, and forced a rethink.</p>
<p>Within nine years of the “Great Stink”, the 900-kilometre London Sewage Network was constructed - an engineering marvel of the Victorian age. The politicians at the time weren’t immediately convinced the new infrastructure would help public health but the disappearance of disease accepted as the norm for the capital convinced even the most ardent of sceptics. No one talks about miasma as a real thing anymore.</p>
<p>The Great Stink of 1858 overturned beliefs founded on misinformation. A challenge considered impossible, was solved. </p>
<h2>Our generation’s ‘Great Stink’</h2>
<p>Fast forward 160 years and the recent spate of climate headlines is on the back of an increasing trend towards greater extremes, with all the associated human, environmental, and financial costs.</p>
<p>In August of this year, <a href="http://actuariesclimateindex.org/home/">the Actuaries Climate Index</a> – which monitors changes in sea level rise and climate extremes for the North American insurance industry since the 1960s – reported that the five-year moving average reached a new high in 2017. This year promises to continue the trend and is no single outlier.</p>
<p>Will 2018 be the year when the world does something about climate change? </p>
<p>Will 2018 be our generation’s “Great Stink”? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/while-nations-play-politics-cities-and-states-are-taking-up-the-climate-challenge-78839">While nations play politics, cities and states are taking up the climate challenge</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Turney consults for cleanech company CarbonScape (<a href="http://www.carbonscape.com">www.carbonscape.com</a>) and receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>As climate extremes mount, let’s reflect on Victorian London’s ‘Great Stink’ sewage crisis - when things finally became so bad authorities were forced to accept evidence, reject sceptics, and act.Christian Turney, Professor of Earth Science and Climate Change, ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/971072018-05-24T09:21:44Z2018-05-24T09:21:44ZWill London run out of water?<p>Earlier this year, an unusual weather pattern dubbed the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-43218229">Beast from the East</a> covered much of Britain in heavy snow. But once the beast had passed, things soon returned to normal and, at the beginning of March, the temperature in London jumped by more than 10°C in just two days. Water pipes that had been frozen solid quickly thawed, and the sudden flood soon overwhelmed the capital’s creaky infrastructure, causing many pipes to burst. More than <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43283167">20,000 homes</a> in the city were left without water, and residents had to queue for handouts. </p>
<p>Could this become a common sight in future? The UK’s Environment Agency certainly thinks so, as it warns in a new report that England could suffer <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/london-and-southeast-face-major-water-shortages-by-2050-environment-agency-warns-a3846226.html">major water shortages by 2030</a> and that London is particularly at risk. The BBC agrees, placing London on its recent list of 11 cities most likely to <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-42982959">run out of drinking water</a> along with the likes of Cape Town, where an <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/02/cape-town-water-crisis/553076/">ongoing water crisis</a> has caused social and economic disruption. </p>
<p>London is unlikely to experience such shortages this summer. It is the winter (not the summer) weather that determines whether or not the city runs out of water, and winter 2017/18 had <a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/summaries/2018/winter">plenty of rain</a>. But what happens after a dry winter?</p>
<p>At Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute, colleagues and I have addressed the question of how to prevent London from becoming the next Cape Town. Our <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2017EF000730/full">research</a> shows that if no action is taken the city is indeed set to experience more frequent and severe water shortages in the future. This is mainly down to population growth, but climate change complicates things further as it will mean <a href="https://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/22/611/2018/">more frequent and intense droughts</a>.</p>
<p>In agreement with the plans developed by Thames Water – the private utility responsible for providing water and sewage services for most Londoners – our research shows that aggressive demand management to reduce consumption and losses in the distribution system (called leakage) is a priority to be implemented immediately. But reducing leaks from London’s old water pipes is not an easy task.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220131/original/file-20180523-51135-yhs8tn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220131/original/file-20180523-51135-yhs8tn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220131/original/file-20180523-51135-yhs8tn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220131/original/file-20180523-51135-yhs8tn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220131/original/file-20180523-51135-yhs8tn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220131/original/file-20180523-51135-yhs8tn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220131/original/file-20180523-51135-yhs8tn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220131/original/file-20180523-51135-yhs8tn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some of London’s water pipes are more than 100 years old, and leaks are common.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/harrywood/4248316700">Harry Wood</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Over the past few years, Thames Water <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/f8bc1f81-5512-3819-84ce-dc07aae36953">has missed its leakage reduction targets</a>. In 2017, the failure to meet these leakage reduction commitments cost the water company an £8.55m fine from the water regulator, only a fraction of the £100m the water company paid investors in dividends in the same year. Recognising the scale of investment and effort required, the company now says it is directing all its resources <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6TvRq8rKhk&t=278s">towards upgrades and maintenance</a> rather than dividends.</p>
<p>But there are limits to what can be achieved just by fixing leaky pipes or getting people to water their lawns less often. Though such measures are useful, they will not safeguard London’s water supplies against the more extreme combinations of growth and climate change. </p>
<h2>Water recycling</h2>
<p>Instead, the city’s water managers have been thinking about innovative ways to augment supplies. Potential solutions include building <a href="https://www.thameswater.co.uk/-/media/Site-Content/Your-water-future-2018/WRMP-Sections/dWRMP19-Section-07---Appraisal-of-Resource-Options-011217.pdf">new reservoirs or transferring water</a> from other parts of the country. More radically, London could start recycling its wastewater back into the river Thames. This would involve <a href="https://corporate.thameswater.co.uk/-/media/Site-Content/Thames-Water/Corporate/AboutUs/Our-strategies-and-plans/Water-resources/Document-library/Water-reports/wastewater.pdf">advanced treatment of wastewater from a sewage treatment works</a> that is then returned to the Thames river downstream of an abstraction point. This would allow for more abstraction upstream, without compromising the environment’s water needs.</p>
<p>How should London choose between these different alternatives? The city needs something that’s not too expensive, that keeps residents happy with the price, taste and appearance of the water, while also reducing the risk of the taps running dry. </p>
<p>My colleagues and I looked at the various options – new reservoirs, water transfers, desalination and recycling – and the model we developed shows that the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2017EF000730/full">recycling of treated wastewater</a> back into the river makes most sense from an economic and risk reduction standpoint.</p>
<p>Water recycling works in <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Singapore-Water-Story-Sustainable-Development-in-an-Urban-City-State/Tortajada-Joshi-Biswas/p/book/9780415657839">Singapore</a>, where water is reused time and again, thus closing the loop between supply and demand – an example of the <a href="http://www.iwa-network.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/IWA_Circular_Economy_screen.pdf">circular economy</a>.</p>
<p>Yet all this requires a change of thinking. Traditionally, investments in new pipes or reservoirs are based on estimates of future water availability and needs. These estimates are <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/319/5863/573.full">based on past observations</a>, which means that water engineers look at how much rain there was in the past and then assume that there will be as much in the future. Typically, this results in infrastructure that delivers a secure supply of water at the lowest cost possible – under “normal” conditions.</p>
<p>However, the future will be significantly different from anything imagined when water supply systems were first built. We will have to leave more water in the rivers for aquatic ecosystems to thrive. We will have to deal with more erratic rainfall.</p>
<p>To prevent London from becoming the next Cape Town, individual residents will have to use water as wisely as possible. And their water managers will have to focus on what will work even in an era of significant climate change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97107/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Edoardo Borgomeo has received PhD funding from the Environment Agency (science project SC120053) and Thames Water (2012-2015). The research referenced in this article was undertaken within the MaRIUS project: Managing the Risks, Impacts and Uncertainties of droughts and water Scarcity, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and undertaken by researchers from the University of Oxford (NE/L010364/1). </span></em></p>Climate change plus population growth means the city has to act soon.Edoardo Borgomeo, Honorary Research Associate, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/859392017-10-30T14:23:26Z2017-10-30T14:23:26ZWhat really killed Prince Albert?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192439/original/file-20171030-18735-nwogpt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6659052">Royal Collection/Wikimedia Commons</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><strong><em>Spoiler alert. Those following ITV’s epic costume drama, Victoria, starring Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes, should look away now – unless you want to know what happens to Albert…</em></strong></p>
<p>It was Queen Victoria’s darkest day. On December 14, 1861, her husband of 21 years, Prince Albert, died at the age of just 42. She never got over his death, and dressed in black for the rest of her life. On the death certificate, the registrar-general gave the cause of death as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6750292">“typhoid fever: duration 21 days”</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Typhoid-fever/Pages/Introduction.aspx">Typhoid</a> is caused by the bacterium <em>Salmonella typhi</em>. It is <a href="http://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=118&printable=1">spread</a> by consuming food or water contaminated with the faeces of an infected person. The disease is therefore associated with poor sanitation and unhygienic preparation of food. It is still a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20014951">serious problem</a> in many of the poorer parts of the world, but in the Victorian era, it could strike anyone, anywhere – even a prince. </p>
<h2>The Great Stink</h2>
<p>Only a few years before, during the hot summer of 1858, the sluicing of raw sewage into the Thames had reached crisis point, producing the <a href="https://www.choleraandthethames.co.uk/cholera-in-london/the-great-stink/">“Great Stink”</a>. For all Victorians, even the aristocracy, typhoid was an ever-present menace that could kill up to a third of those infected. Death was usually a result of intestinal ulceration – if one of the ulcers perforated, <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Typhoid-fever/Pages/complications.aspx">peritonitis would follow</a>, as happens in the case of a burst appendix.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192066/original/file-20171026-13311-17jgzz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192066/original/file-20171026-13311-17jgzz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192066/original/file-20171026-13311-17jgzz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192066/original/file-20171026-13311-17jgzz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192066/original/file-20171026-13311-17jgzz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192066/original/file-20171026-13311-17jgzz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192066/original/file-20171026-13311-17jgzz5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Death rows on the Thames, claiming the lives of victims who have not paid to have the river cleaned up.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4465060">Punch Magazine</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite the daily reality of typhoid in the 1860s, a stunned public almost immediately began to express scepticism regarding the diagnosis, with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6750292">letters</a> appearing in The Lancet and the British Medical Journal. No autopsy was performed – whatever the uncertainty regarding the much respected Prince’s tragically premature end, there were no suspicious circumstances and the curiosity-driven dissection of a royal corpse was regarded as a step too far. </p>
<p>The royal doctors also had to consider the effect further public discussion of the Prince’s illness would have had on the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2073792/Queen-Victorias-unbearable-grief-death-Prince-Albert.html">distraught state of his widow, Queen Victoria</a>, which later deepened into a lifelong state of mourning that today we might call clinical depression. As far as the royal medical team were concerned, it was case closed.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192069/original/file-20171026-13311-1ndo1zy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192069/original/file-20171026-13311-1ndo1zy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=786&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192069/original/file-20171026-13311-1ndo1zy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=786&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192069/original/file-20171026-13311-1ndo1zy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=786&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192069/original/file-20171026-13311-1ndo1zy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=988&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192069/original/file-20171026-13311-1ndo1zy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=988&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192069/original/file-20171026-13311-1ndo1zy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=988&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, 1854.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8001129">Roger Fenton</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Recent biographies of Prince Albert have either tended to gloss over the exact cause of death as <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Albert.html?id=NrZ1AAAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y">unimportant</a> or <a href="https://www.abebooks.co.uk/book-search/title/uncrowned-king-life-prince-albert/author/stanley-weintraub/">actively dispute it</a>. One of the most favoured alternative theories is that <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=4Z1S6CSXV2UC&pg=PA435&lpg=PA435&dq=prince+albert+stomach+cancer&source=bl&ots=8YKQHSrKvG&sig=ceNqjVRsUVE8_jyc4q_BrJRdhfY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj9hqnLtfrWAhXBCBoKHdInAkoQ6AEIjwEwGQ#v=onepage&q=prince%20albert%20stomach%20cancer&f=false">Albert had stomach cancer</a> (a disease that killed his mother at the age of 30), or perhaps <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2074595/Prince-Alberts-death-finally-solved-150-years-suffering-Crohns-disease.html">Crohn’s disease</a>. </p>
<p>Certainly, Albert’s health had been deteriorating intermittently for several years. Although he and his wife were almost purely constitutional monarchs in the modern sense, with the reins of government held firmly by the prime minister and the cabinet, Albert insisted on taking a very active role in decision-making. </p>
<p>Nineteenth-century deference to the aristocracy and the Prince Consort’s assertive personality meant that he was rarely denied this privilege, and he frequently distressed himself acutely over matters well beyond his official job description. Nor did he use his dabbling in government as an excuse to avoid the ceremonial aspects of his role. Albert’s life became a whirlwind of public engagements and private office work over long hours; he was a man driving himself to the brink.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HwaZb-s6Mb4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<h2>Jenner’s diagnosis</h2>
<p>Nevertheless, the typhoid fever diagnosis ought not to be completely discounted. The junior of the main pair of royal physicians was William Jenner, the world’s acknowledged expert on typhoid fever. His theoretical superior, the 72-year-old Sir James Clark, had first become known as the doctor who <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/oct/26/doctors-mistakes-keats">treated the poet John Keats during his final illness</a> in Rome 41 years previously. In 1861, however, Clark’s contribution to Prince Albert’s care went little beyond the reassurance provided by his eminent presence in the sickroom. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192067/original/file-20171026-13349-mx9df3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192067/original/file-20171026-13349-mx9df3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=809&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192067/original/file-20171026-13349-mx9df3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=809&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192067/original/file-20171026-13349-mx9df3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=809&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192067/original/file-20171026-13349-mx9df3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1016&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192067/original/file-20171026-13349-mx9df3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1016&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192067/original/file-20171026-13349-mx9df3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1016&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">William Jenner.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19054609">Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Instead, Jenner took the lead, basing his diagnosis of typhoid on <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2104228/">previous observation of hundreds of cases</a>. If anybody knew typhoid, Jenner did, and he saw the same pattern playing out in Albert.</p>
<p>Albert had been well and in relatively good spirits on the royal family’s annual outing to Balmoral in late summer 1861, but after the holiday he returned to his old habits of obsessive working. Psychologically he was under great strain due to the recent deaths of three of his cousins in the Portuguese royal family, <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=GdpJ3xILErYC&pg=PA408&lpg=PA408&dq=portuguese+royal+family+typhoid&source=bl&ots=vo-c_CD2cv&sig=qeUthKGp6669-6akTqZdV0Fc6kk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjprM-LuPrWAhVFtxoKHWVvDo4Q6AEIZDAO#v=onepage&q=portuguese%20royal%20family%20typhoid&f=false">coincidentally also all from typhoid</a>. The Queen noted his depression <a href="http://www.queenvictoriasjournals.org/home.do">in her diary</a> on November 12. One of his daughters also later recollected that he ate very little during this time. </p>
<p>On November 22, Albert had been soaked to the skin by a rainstorm on a morning visit to Sandhurst military academy. The following day, he began to complain of rheumatic pains and feeling very unwell. </p>
<p>But on November 25, instead of resting and recuperating, he went off to Cambridge to upbraid his eldest son, Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales, on his liaison with what Albert called a “low, common woman” – the actress Nellie Clifden, who had become the student prince’s first mistress. </p>
<p>They went for a long walk, considerably lengthened by a wrong turning in the rain. Albert returned exhausted, once again soaked to the skin, and in his native German “recht elend” (quite miserable). Despite this extreme tiredness, Albert recorded in his diary that day that he had scarcely slept for a fortnight.</p>
<p>A few days later, at an Eton College parade on November 29, witnesses recorded that the Prince Consort looked very unwell and he complained to one of his daughters of “very heavy catarrh” and a headache as well as rheumatic pain. He later suffered from a violent coughing fit. </p>
<p>Jenner examined him that evening but did not initially suspect anything serious. The following day, Albert was back at his desk, but once again soon exhausted. From December 4, he began to go badly downhill, exhibiting signs of breathlessness with occasional vomiting and episodes of delirium. His insomnia continued and Jenner and Clark became, between themselves, increasingly worried, although the nervous Queen was kept reassured. </p>
<p>On December 7, Jenner noticed the characteristic pink-purple <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6750292">“rose spots” of typhoid</a> on the Prince Consort’s abdomen. The last piece of the jigsaw had slotted into place, and the diagnosis of typhoid was made. </p>
<p>There was a slight improvement from December 8-11, but on December 12 the fever, breathing difficulties and delirium returned with greater force and he coughed up a large quantity of mucus. On December 14, the fever intensified further, his hands and face began to darken (possibly a <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cyanosis/pages/introduction.aspx">cyanosis</a> from circulatory failure) and his breathing became more rapid. Just before 11pm, he died.</p>
<p>Can this have been a description of typhoid? The slow progress of the disease over three weeks is very characteristic. Likewise the sporadic delirium, rose spots, headache, coughing and progressive exhaustion are all typical symptoms. </p>
<p>Mid-19th century doctors had virtually no laboratory diagnostic resources and relied almost exclusively on observation of the patient. The <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10644383">first blood test for typhoid</a> was not developed until 1896. In Albert’s case, the key sign was the <a href="https://www.skinsight.com/skin-conditions/atlas/typhoid-fever">rose spot rash</a>.</p>
<p>Infectious diseases often exhibit distinctive rashes or other skin lesion patterns – measles, chickenpox, smallpox, roseola, scarlet fever, syphilis, scabies, coxsackievirus, herpesvirus, Zika virus and papillomavirus as well as typhoid. Where the other symptoms are diffuse and general, <a href="https://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/full/10.2217/fmb-2016-0147">it is often the rash that clinches things</a>.</p>
<h2>Biographers disagree</h2>
<p>But if we accept Jenner’s observational experience and expertise in typhoid and agree with his diagnosis, the question then arises of when the Prince contracted it. Biographers who disagree with the typhoid theory often point to the fact that December 1861 was a relatively quiet time for the disease. There were no cases reported in any of the locations where Albert was to be found in the three weeks or so before his death – neither in Windsor, Cambridge nor Sandhurst. Albert was also eating virtually nothing at this time, also minimising the opportunities for typhoid transmission. </p>
<p>However, this critique fails to consider the issue of the incubation period of the disease. Typhoid has a clinical course of three to four weeks, but a wide incubation period of six to 30 days. To find the places where the Prince Consort was potentially infected, we need to look at his diary not in late November but from late October to mid-November. </p>
<p>The royal party left Edinburgh by train for London on October 23, having travelled the day before from Balmoral, where they had been since August 31. En route from Balmoral to Edinburgh, <a href="http://www.queenvictoriasjournals.org/home.do">the only meal was a lunch taken at Stonehaven</a>, on the coast near Aberdeen. In Edinburgh, all dining was at Holyrood Palace, where several eminent guests joined the royal party. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192074/original/file-20171026-13315-eg6wv7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192074/original/file-20171026-13315-eg6wv7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192074/original/file-20171026-13315-eg6wv7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192074/original/file-20171026-13315-eg6wv7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192074/original/file-20171026-13315-eg6wv7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1000&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192074/original/file-20171026-13315-eg6wv7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1000&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192074/original/file-20171026-13315-eg6wv7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1000&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Prince Albert, 1860.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11939975">John Jabez Edwin Mayal/Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After that, Albert was based at Windsor until his death, the only trips of any distance being four to London on October 26, October 30, November 6 and November 11, and the visit to his son in Cambridge on November 25. It is possible that Albert was infected with typhoid during that Stonehaven lunch break, or perhaps on one of his London trips but that is, of course, purely speculative. </p>
<p>The London Morning Post, on December 18, 1861 <a href="https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results/1861-01-01/1861-12-31?basicsearch=typhoid&somesearch=typhoid&retrievecountrycounts=false&newspapertitle=morning%20post&page=1">recorded just 39 cases of typhoid fever in London in the previous month</a>. The only mention of typhoid in the Press and Journal, the local newspaper in Stonehaven, in 1861 was to report the death of the Prince Consort. So further investigation of the possible incubation period does not lend any obvious support to the typhoid theory.</p>
<p>A third possibility remains. Albert may have had an illness that is still unknown today. It is easy to be dismissive of the comparatively primitive medicine of the 1860s, but the medicine of our own age will be similarly dismissed 150 years from now. We can be sure that there are some things we still do not fully understand, and perhaps Albert’s fatal decline is one of them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85939/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Derek Gatherer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Although some experts still disagree about the cause of Prince Albert’s untimely demise, the most likely culprit seems to be the bacterium Salmonella typhi.Derek Gatherer, Lecturer, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/533372016-01-19T12:50:50Z2016-01-19T12:50:50ZTen years after the Thames whale, how are Britain’s sea mammals faring?<p>The British Isles are blessed with a wide variety of sea mammals, with records showing 29 species of whales, porpoises and dolphins and seven species of seals in its waters. But only some of these are regular inhabitants, and when the more unusual species make an appearance it can cause considerable public interest – as happened ten years ago when a northern bottlenose whale, normally found in the deep Atlantic, instead <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4631396.stm">swam up the River Thames</a> in front of the Houses of Parliament and tens of thousands of fascinated onlookers.</p>
<p>While few in the city can have been unaware of what was unfolding in the river, attempts to rescue the whale failed, and <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4635874.stm">it died two days later</a>. The whale, far from its normal habitat, had probably entered the North Sea in pursuit of squid, its principal prey, before becoming lost and, hungry and disoriented, ended up in the Thames Estuary. A <a href="http://www.thameswhale.info/">post-mortem by pathologists</a> from the Zoological Society of London found the cause of death to be a combination of dehydration, physiological stress, cardiovascular collapse and multiple organ failure induced by the stress of repeated strandings and the attempted rescue. </p>
<p>In truth, the tale of the Thames whale says more about human behaviour than whales themselves. But a decade on, it’s interesting to reflect on what we know about the changing fortunes of the remarkable creatures that live in Britain’s waters.</p>
<h2>Cetaceans – whales, dolphins and porpoise</h2>
<p>Of the 29 cetacean species recorded around Britain, 15 are regular inhabitants. But we know very little about all but the most common species. Some species such as fin and <a href="http://www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk/humpback-hooray/">humpback whales</a>, among the principal targets of the early 20th century whaling industry, show signs of recovery, with a marked increase in sightings. </p>
<p><a href="http://seawatchfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Minke_Whale.pdf">Minke whales</a>, which are still taken in Norwegian waters but in smaller numbers, also show signs of population growth since the 1980s. This may be related partly to ecosystem changes during the 1960s-70s when fish stocks of herring and mackerel collapsed, seemingly taking the pressure off prey fish such as sandeel and sprat for which the whales competed. However, since the mid-1990s, the abundance of minke whales as assessed by large-scale surveys (<a href="http://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov/KeywordSearch/Metadata.do?Portal=GCMD&MetadataType=0&MetadataView=Full&KeywordPath=&EntryId=seamap103">SCANS in July 1994</a> and <a href="http://biology.st-andrews.ac.uk/scans2/">SCANS II in July 2005</a>) has shown no significant change.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108579/original/image-20160119-29783-1s4hf3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108579/original/image-20160119-29783-1s4hf3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108579/original/image-20160119-29783-1s4hf3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108579/original/image-20160119-29783-1s4hf3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108579/original/image-20160119-29783-1s4hf3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108579/original/image-20160119-29783-1s4hf3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108579/original/image-20160119-29783-1s4hf3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A minke whale lunging through a shoal of sprat in the Inner Hebrides.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">P Anderwald</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The same applies to <a href="http://seawatchfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/White-beaked_Dolphin.pdf">white-beaked dolphin</a> and <a href="http://seawatchfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Harbour_Porpoise.pdf">harbour porpoise</a> – although the porpoise is now found more abundantly in the southern North Sea and English Channel, with a corresponding decrease in the northwestern North Sea. This change in distribution may well be related to the abundance of certain prey – sandeel is an obvious candidate since stocks in the northwestern North Sea have declined over the last 20 years.</p>
<p>During the 1990s, deaths of porpoises from accidental capture in fishing gear such as gill nets were thought to be unsustainable, which led to the introduction in 2004 of an <a href="http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-5214">EU Regulation (812/2004) aimed at reducing bycatch</a>. At the same time, fishing in the North and Celtic Seas where porpoise bycatch was greatest also declined. However, porpoise deaths from fishing vessels continue, with insufficient monitoring for us to be truly confident of the scale. </p>
<p>Another problem facing marine mammals is that of pollutants: contaminant levels in top predators, which bioaccumulate through the food chain, have declined substantially from when PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and pesticides (DDT and dieldrin) were widespread during the mid-20th century. But they persist in the oceans, with <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/srep18573">PCB levels in particular around the UK linked with disease</a> among harbour porpoises. Other top predators like bottlenose dolphin and <a href="http://seawatchfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Killer_Whale.pdf">orca</a> (killer whale) may also be especially vulnerable. That said, there is no clear evidence of significant overall population declines. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108480/original/image-20160118-31821-1ns8ray.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108480/original/image-20160118-31821-1ns8ray.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108480/original/image-20160118-31821-1ns8ray.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108480/original/image-20160118-31821-1ns8ray.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108480/original/image-20160118-31821-1ns8ray.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108480/original/image-20160118-31821-1ns8ray.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/108480/original/image-20160118-31821-1ns8ray.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Harbour seals have been declining in several areas in Britain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Peter Evans</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Pinnipeds – seals</h2>
<p>We know much more about seal populations than whales, thanks mainly to the monitoring efforts of the <a href="http://www.smru.st-andrews.ac.uk/">Sea Mammal Research Unit</a> at the University of St Andrews. With an estimated population size of around 112,000, the UK accounts for 38% of the world’s Atlantic grey seals, which appear to be thriving. The majority (88%) breed in Scotland where, since the 1990s, they have been growing in numbers, particularly around Orkney and parts of the North Sea. Only in the Hebrides have pup birth rates remained fairly static.</p>
<p>By contrast, harbour seals have not fared so well over the same period. At 36,500, Britain’s harbour seals represent around 30% of the European population. Harbour seal counts (made during the autumn moult) were stable or rising until around 2000 when they began to decline in Shetland (down by 30%), Orkney (down 78%) and the Firth of Tay (down 93%). Other regions have been more stable, with those further south recovering from the devastating effect of the <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16532603">PDV morbillivirus epidemic in 1988</a> which wiped out more than half their population. We don’t really know what’s behind these changes, but competition for food and the impact of toxins from harmful algae are possible causes. </p>
<p>The effects of climate change on sea mammals is also an issue, due to the effects it has on prey species. The last ten years have seen greater numbers of warm water species such as <a href="http://seawatchfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Striped_Dolphin.pdf">striped dolphin</a> and <a href="http://uk.whales.org/species-guide/cuviers-beaked-whale">Cuvier’s beaked whale</a>, and a new species, <a href="http://uk.whales.org/species-guide/dwarf-sperm-whale">dwarf sperm whale</a>, added to those species appearing in British waters. Also, in what might seem like a contradictory trend, a bowhead whale, normally closely associated with the Arctic, made its <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-31659103">first UK appearance</a> off the Isles of Scilly in February 2015. It’s likely that the next ten years will bring more changes to the status and distribution of different species as they experience changing environmental pressures.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53337/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>I am Director of a non profit research organisation called Sea Watch Foundation. That organisation receives contracts from government conservation bodies such as JNCC and Natural Resources Wales, to undertake research projects. I am also a member of a consortium of academic institutions funded by NERC participating in a Marine Ecosystems Research Programme. I am a member of a scientific Advisory Panel for the Joint Industry Program on Sound and Marine Life. I have no political affiliation. </span></em></p>It didn’t turn out well for the whale who went to Westminster, but others have made a happy home in British waters.Peter Evans, Honorary Senior Lecturer, Bangor UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/286842014-07-02T15:36:05Z2014-07-02T15:36:05ZHow Thames Water will pay next to nothing for a £4 billion tunnel<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52807/original/jkswgbxw-1404240484.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The people's water?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/loopzilla/5428001893/">loopzilla</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>London’s Victorian sewerage system is creaking and in dire need of renewal. The proposed solution: a 25km “super-sewer”, the <a href="http://www.thamestidewaytunnel.co.uk/">Thames Tideway Tunnel</a>, running from west to east across the capital at an estimated cost of £4.2 billion. </p>
<p>Thames Water wants to build the tunnel, but its owner, an international consortium of investors led by the Australian bank, Macquarie Group, has encountered a slight hitch: there’s not enough money to fund the upgrade. It seems there is too little equity left in the business and too much debt – the company has been leveraged up to the hilt, to the extent that it wants someone else to pay for the tunnel. </p>
<h2>Can’t pay, won’t pay</h2>
<p>In common with other investment consortia <a href="http://money.aol.co.uk/2013/05/21/who-really-owns-our-water-companies/">that own much of the water industry</a> in England, Thames Water has been loaded up with debt since privatisation. The debt is now some £8 billion, amounting to around four-fifths of the business, a <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gearing.asp">gearing</a> of just under 80%.</p>
<p>In itself, such high leverage is not necessarily a problem, unless, that is, you want to borrow more money. Then you run the risk of damaging your credit rating. But the investors <a href="http://cjres.oxfordjournals.org/content/6/3/419">have a plan</a>. </p>
<p>They’ve set up a separate business, a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/305191/ttt-consult-sum-resp-201404.pdf">special-purpose vehicle</a>, to deliver the tunnel, neatly sidestepping any credit rating concerns. But the cost of the tunnel renewal is to be effectively funded from household water bills, meaning <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/thames-water-calls-for-11-price-hike-to-pay-for-super-sewer-8979455.html">an 11% increase for Thames Water’s 14m customers</a>, up to 2020.</p>
<p>So, because it doesn’t have the money, Thames Water wants its customers to help pay for the super-sewer. </p>
<p>This is odd, perhaps, when you come to think about it. The privatisation of household water was sold to us in the 1980s as part of the wider Thatcherite drive to address the inefficiency of the public-sector providers by opening utilities to private-sector finance and management. The private sector was not slow in accepting the invitation. So what happened to all the finance and management?</p>
<h2>Same water, different shareholders</h2>
<p>In some ways, the water industry in England and Wales today looks much like it did at the time of privatisation in 1989. But after 25 years, only the trading names remain the same as before, with the public as a shareholder increasingly displaced by global consortia, pension and other specialist infrastructure funds. </p>
<p>Behind the familiar company logos, the companies that run Thames, Anglian, Southern and Yorkshire Water have led the way in engineering water bills for financial gain.</p>
<p>The asset that interests them, however, is not actually water, but people: households with the ability to pay water bills on a regular basis for the foreseeable future. </p>
<p>In the hands of a Macquarie-led consortium, such a guaranteed revenue stream presents a <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/07/securitization.asp">securitisation</a> opportunity, that is, a means to package up a debt with the prospects of future revenue. Leveraging debt through securitisation allows revenue streams from underlying assets, in this case, Thames Water’s bill-paying customers, to be packaged together, bonds issued against them, and then sold on to investors.</p>
<p>Crucially, securitisation represents a claim against the cash that flows from household water bills in the future – a guarantee of money which customers have yet to be billed. It is a form of refinancing that leaves Thames Water’s balance sheet short of equity, but with a mound of leveraged debt.</p>
<h2>Siphoning off profits</h2>
<p>Of course, this debt could be used to lower household water bills or finance infrastructure development. But it may also be used to pay higher shareholder dividends. </p>
<p>Companies such as Thames Water, it turns out, have been <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/storm-over-thames-water-dividend-1256608.html">paying out in dividends</a> far more than they actually earn from their cash flows and using the borrowed money to fund substantial dividends for the <a href="http://cjres.oxfordjournals.org/content/6/3/419.full.pdf">best part of a decade</a> – money that could have been used to finance the Thames Tideway Tunnel. </p>
<p>The structuring and crafting of such deals like this are a relatively new development, one which arrived after the onset of privatisation and which left the water regulator <a href="http://www.ofwat.gov.uk/">Ofwat</a> in a position of having to adjust to the new financial reality. </p>
<h2>Ring-fenced politics</h2>
<p>Ofwat operates a regulatory ring-fence. So long as the water companies don’t allow their debt liabilities to interfere with their core water business, it’s pretty much left to them as to how much debt they take on. But the ring-fence, in the case of Thames Water, is looking as leaky as its decaying sewers.</p>
<p>The mound of debt taken on by Thames Water now means that it can’t raise the money to renew its infrastructure. Someone else – probably its bill-paying customers – will have to take on that burden. </p>
<p>If the political spotlight focused a little more brightly on the new financial reality of privatised water, you might get a reaction of the kind that has taken place in Berlin or in Copenhagen. The former has seen a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/10/us-veolia-berlinwasser-idUSBRE9890OC20130910">re-municipalisation</a> of water utilities, the latter <a href="http://cphpost.dk/news/2-500-protest-against-goldman-sachs-deal.8473.html">protests</a> against the machinations of Goldman Sachs in the Danish energy market.</p>
<p>We could do worse than take a look at <a href="http://www.dwrcymru.com/en/Company-Information.aspx">Welsh Water’s not-for-profit model</a>. With no shareholders, the money from household water bills goes towards financing new infrastructure development and, if there’s a surplus, towards the payment of an annual customer dividend. Thatcher, we suspect, might even have approved.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/28684/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>London’s Victorian sewerage system is creaking and in dire need of renewal. The proposed solution: a 25km “super-sewer”, the Thames Tideway Tunnel, running from west to east across the capital at an estimated…John Allen, Professor of Economic Geography, The Open UniversityMichael Pryke, Head of Geography, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/232662014-02-17T08:53:46Z2014-02-17T08:53:46ZHistorical record shows these floods are no high-water mark<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41594/original/78bcjbb2-1392399492.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Definitely no entry.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Neil Macdonald</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The flooding of the Thames and Severn rivers <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/10634703/River-Thames-flooding-before-and-after-aerials.html">over the past week</a> has brought the misery of being flooded to many more people beyond the sodden Somerset Levels.</p>
<p>Such a prolonged period of rainfall – the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/feb/01/january-uk-wettest-winter-month-250-years">wettest winter since records began</a> – has overwhelmed the soil and groundwater’s natural capacity to draw water away. While the flooding has caused widespread disruption and inconvenience, that’s not to say they’re the worst “in living memory”.</p>
<p>There are records kept for most rivers in the UK that record river flow going back around 40 years, with records at a handful of sites such as York, Nottingham and Teddington on the Thames in west London going back for more than a century. These records are invaluable in helping us map and understand flood risk. Where few instrumental records exist we can use other forms of evidence such as flood marks and documentary accounts such as those found in diaries or newspaper reports.</p>
<p>Flood marks such as these provide insight to the level of floodwaters in the past. When these pictures were taken earlier this week at Wallingford, the flood was comparable to the level reached in 2003 and 2007 – both “in living memory” – but was far below the high-water mark of the largest flood recorded on the Thames in the last couple of hundred years, here in 1894.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41596/original/q7bm7pqm-1392399557.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41596/original/q7bm7pqm-1392399557.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41596/original/q7bm7pqm-1392399557.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41596/original/q7bm7pqm-1392399557.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41596/original/q7bm7pqm-1392399557.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41596/original/q7bm7pqm-1392399557.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41596/original/q7bm7pqm-1392399557.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41596/original/q7bm7pqm-1392399557.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The 2003 and 2007 flood water marks on the Thames.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Neil Macdonald</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Flood levels may vary throughout a catchment area, so a flood level may be higher or lower upstream or downstream of a site as a result of local factors such as drainage, run-off, vegetation and additional water from tributaries or upwelling groundwater.</p>
<p>While some care is needed in interpretation of the records, what this shows is that the current flooding is not quite as rare as some have claimed. Over the past few hundred years large floods occurred on the Thames in 1774, 1852, 1894 and 1947. The British Evening Post of London recorded on March 15 1774:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>At Kingston, the water having reached up to the town hall, and spread over far the greater part of the town; the people could not keep the market there on Saturday last … At Teddington, the water rose in the church to a considerable height. And at Twickenham, the flood on Saturday evening was full one feet higher than it was 115 Years ago; though at that time it was higher than was ever known before … At Isleworth, the water was so high, that they could not get to the church without boats, so that this flood in the River Thames, was, in all probability, the greatest that ever was in this river.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Major floods struck the Somerset levels in 1811, 1876, 1894 and 1929, and the Severn in 1672, 1770, 1795, 1852, 1869 and 1947. The floods across southern England in 1947 <a href="http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/news/story.aspx?id=1175">were the 20th century’s worst</a>, in extent and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/jul/25/weather.flooding1">cost of damages</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41597/original/wjmxg5q5-1392399718.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41597/original/wjmxg5q5-1392399718.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41597/original/wjmxg5q5-1392399718.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41597/original/wjmxg5q5-1392399718.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41597/original/wjmxg5q5-1392399718.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41597/original/wjmxg5q5-1392399718.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41597/original/wjmxg5q5-1392399718.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41597/original/wjmxg5q5-1392399718.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The 1894 high-water mark, several feet above today’s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Neil Macdonald</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the past decade or so the UK has witnessed a number of serious floods, with those that struck <a href="http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/interesting/autumn2000.html">Yorkshire and central England in 2000</a> signalling the start of the apparently flood-rich phase which we are currently passing through. It seems from the historical record that this is not unknown – a number of such phases can be identified over the last 500 years. But up until 2000 there had been relatively few severe floods since the 1920s (for example 1968 and 1947, and the east coast floods from the North Sea in 1953). With memory and experience of floods reduced in many communities, expectations of what could be expected is reduced.</p>
<p>So we should take note from our current predicament and learn from this and from past events. We must develop long-term sustainable approaches to managing the risk of floods and not fall back on short-term responses that will be unsustainable, and ultimately won’t improve the situation over the long term.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23266/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Neil Macdonald receives funding from RCUK (AHRC and NERC).</span></em></p>The flooding of the Thames and Severn rivers over the past week has brought the misery of being flooded to many more people beyond the sodden Somerset Levels. Such a prolonged period of rainfall – the…Neil Macdonald, Senior Lecturer in Risk, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.