University of East Anglia - Turning the poisonous tide

An "unfavourable and declining" habitat has sparked a £2 million project to improve water quality in a Norfolk river. The quality of water in the River Wensum, a site of special scientific interest, has deteriorated in recent years due to phosphate pollution and sediment deposits caused by run-offs from farmland, roads and sewage-treatment works. The Wensum Alliance, launched by environmental scientists at the University of East Anglia, will bring together researchers, landowners and managers, farming and environmental organisations and state agencies to improve the river's water quality and ecology.