A coalition of citizen science groups has launched a campaign to force the Government to include public data in its upcoming water reforms.
The Testing the Waters Consortium representing more than 21,000 volunteers says the Water White Paper makes no reference to citizen science, despite those groups helping expose the scale of river pollution across the UK.
The campaign argues that without formally recognising citizen data the reforms will fail to deliver the transparency and accountability needed to restore trust.
Citizen scientists have collected more than 61,000 water samples contributing over 20,000 hours of monitoring, creating a detailed picture of river health that often goes beyond official datasets.
The consortium says this evidence is low cost high impact and already supported by emerging frameworks within the Environment Agency.
At the centre of the campaign is a push to embed citizen data into the regulatory system. That includes giving volunteers a formal role in regional planning bodies integrating verified data into official monitoring and creating open platforms that combine industry regulator and public data.
Claire Zambuni co chair of the consortium said: “Ignoring tens of thousands of datapoints and volunteers would be a huge opportunity missed.”
The warning comes as ministers prepare a Water Reform Bill billed as a once in a generation reset of the sector.
Campaigners argue structural changes alone will not clean up rivers unless decision making is backed by the fullest possible evidence base..
Copyright © 2026 Energy Live News LtdELN