Study title

The ‘UpStream’ project was co-created, co-developed and co-delivered with two active community groups in the UK (Friends of Bradford's Becks) and Taiwan (Taiwan Clean Water Alliance) who both were concerned about water pollution in their local rivers. The project has provided a testbed to achieve the aim of the project of aiding citizen scientists better understand local water quality. This has led to the development and deployment of a cost-effective Continuous Water Quality Monitoring device, the WaterBox, along with methods for transmitting, storing, visualising, and analysing the data collected. Parameters collected include: pH, temperature, conductivity and turbidity. A total of 104 practicalities of continuous water quality monitoring were observed and categorised as either technical, social, economic or wider responsibilities. These have been summarised in a publication that is current;y under review.The UpStream project aims to improve water quality in the UK and Taiwan by working with citizens to gather data, share knowledge and experiences, and develop new technologies. Motivated by environmental issues already identified by the public, this participatory project will increase connectivity and action across a range of organisations and community groups. Both the UK and Taiwan have problems with pollution of rivers. Across Europe, laws state that river water quality should not be impacted by human activity, but latest assessments suggest that just 38% of waters meet this standard. In Taiwan, rapid industrialisation and economic growth have had an impact on water pollution. In 2016, 65% of Taiwanese rivers were classed as moderately polluted. As economic growth stabilises and society evolves, attention is shifting to water quality issues; tighter water quality standards have been set and are incorporated into the government's Forward-looking Infrastructure plan. In both the UK and Taiwan citizens feel strongly about water quality, and have founded local...