This page lists various useful resources relating to water pollution, drought and flood
Our key reports with recommendations on how to protect the Cam and its surroundings: “Let it Flow!” , “Let it Flow_Summary” and “The River Cam Manifesto”
Sewage Sleuthing: investigations in to the source of the faecal pollution at Cambridge’s swimming spots. April 2024
Reporting pollution and leaks
If you see signs of pollutants being discharged, or having been discharged, into a river or stream call the Environment Agency on 0800 80 7060 If this is not possible, you can email ics@environment-agency.gov.uk More details here. If it’s coming out of a drain in Cambridge, also report it asap to Anglian Water here
If you see a leak that looks like its fresh water, report it to Cambridge Water here . If its smelly report it to Anglian Water. Not sure? Report it to both of them!
Drought and Flood Risk
Environment Agency catchment data for The Cam and Ely Ouse. This gives detailed information on the health of all the rivers in the Cam catchment.
This Environment Agency map shows all the water abstraction licenses and how much each licensee is allowed to use. It is very noticeable that most of the abstraction happens in the Fens, rather than upstream of Cambridge.
All the Environment Agency’s monthly water situation reports can be seen here
To see if an area is at risk from flooding, see this useful Environment Agency map
Flood alerts and river levels. This useful site allows you to input a postcode and see flood warnings and the level of the nearby rivers. For example click here to see the river level at Byrons Pool. Historical data on river flow rates is available here
Water Quality, including Bathing Water
Swiminfo webpage for Bathing water information for Sheep’s Green. This includes the result of the Environment Agency tests for faecal bacteria.
Anglian Water Storm overflow map, showing realtime data on sewage overflows from their treatment works.
This Environment Agency webpage gives access to their water quality data from all their sampling points. For example this page lets you see 20 years of their data on pollutants for the sampling point just below Cambridge’s main sewage works. The datasets can be downloaded as .csv files here
For infomation and updates on drainage and sewerage issues, click here for Anglian Water’s digital map
To report problems with sewage or drainage use this link
You can buy maps of Anglian Water’s surface water and sewerage drains at digdat. Annoyingly they’re behind a paywall. This one cost £35 in 2023. They’re also available for free at Anglian Water’s offices in Huntingdon
WWF rivers map. This is based on Environment agency data in 2015. Areas highlighted in red have listed reasons for not achieving good water quality status
