River and sea pollution by untreated sewage has been in the news a lot lately. The Stour isn’t registered as a recognised bathing area, so the Environment Agency isn’t obliged to monitor the water for safety, and we have no records of how contaminated our river and its seemingly crystal-clear water can become at times. A recent survey by a local individual showed an unacceptably high level of E. coli contamination at Fordwich, however. We know that there have been discharges into the Stour, most probably from the Horton works, which are only a mile upstream from Hambrook Marshes. So hidden danger may lurk within this lovely river, and we are now looking into the possibility of carrying out our own regular monitoring of the Stour, in which case we will let you know the results.