Humanity's freshwater use has increased fivefold since 1914 while supplies are rapidly dwindling in many countries. Catastrophic floods and severe droughts worsen water quality by washing chemicals and pathogens into freshwater and by concentrating contaminants, making bathing waters unsafe and increasing treatment needs for drinking water. Reliable monitoring of water quality and identification of pollution hotspots are challenging but essential for accountability. Citizen science mobilizes communities to collect water samples with simple test kits, producing large-scale, timely data, educating and empowering individuals, and enabling collective advocacy. Volunteer campaigns have demonstrated the ability to map nutrient pollution such as nitrates and phosphates across water bodies.
Water contamination only makes the problem worse. In the past two years alone, swathes of the United States, Europe and Africa have been hit by a combination of catastrophic floods and severe droughts, both of which worsen water quality. Floods wash chemicals and pathogens into rivers and lakes, and droughts concentrate these contaminants, making bathing waters unsafe to swim in and necessitating intensive treatment of drinking water.
accountable? The answer, I think, is citizen science - the public's active involvement in research. By enabling communities to monitor their local waters using simple test kits, we can better understand the threats to our freshwater systems and collectively advocate for action. This two-way exchange educates and empowers individuals and simultaneously generates data on a scale scientists can't achieve alone.
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