River & Lake Testing

With sewage spills, nutrient pollution, industrial and chemical waste in our water ways and germs carried into our rivers by heavy rain, there is an increasing risk of infection or illness caused by microorganisms in rivers. Our River Water Testing Kits are recommended for fisheries, angling clubs, charities which monitor the quality of fresh water as well as farmland with ponds & rivers. Find out more about the causes of pollution in rivers & lakes, how to check for visual signs of pollution and recommended tests.

Sewage and bacteria can be confirmed by carrying out a coliform/E.coli and enterococci test. Testing for chemical oxygen demand (COD) or biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) gives an indication of the amount of dissolved oxygen in water – both giving an indication of the amount of decaying organic waste matter in the water and hence potential pollution levels. Nutrient pollution can be tested by checking levels of ammonia, nitrate and phosphate in water.

As seen on the national news.

• Freshwater Biological Association (FBA) and SimplexHealth has been providing the lab tests for the Big Windermere Survey.
• The Sun newspaper asked SimplexHealth to test the River Seine for Coliform Bacteria ahead of the Paris Olympics 2024.
• LBC Radio commissioned SimplexHealth to carry out laboratory tests for the potentially deadly bacteria E Coli for Nick Ferrari at Breakfast

SimplexHealth work with several charities and action groups, analysing rivers, lakes and sea water. If you have a river or lake testing project you would like us to get involved in, please let us know.