Local Residents Build a Digital Tool to Protect Their River

A Community Decides to Take Action

Residents living along the River Dart in Devon, England, have created a new online platform to help people understand when sewage is being discharged into their local river.

The project was developed by Friends of the Dart, an independent non-profit group made up of local people concerned about the health of the waterway. Instead of simply complaining about pollution, the group decided to collect information and make it easier for the public to understand.

A Map Showing Pollution in Real Time

The platform, called River Hub, brings together information about sewage spills at different locations along the River Dart. People can use it to see where spills are happening and where they have occurred during the previous 12 hours.

The platform also identifies locations that are repeatedly affected and provides information about planned improvement work. Its creators say the goal is to make complicated information easier for ordinary residents to access.

Residents Have Experienced the Problem

For people who live around the river, the issue is not simply about statistics. Some residents say they have become ill after swimming in the Dart and its tributaries.

Emma Roberts, an interfaith minister and theatre director, told The Guardian that she was hospitalised with an E. coli infection after swimming in the river. Other local residents have also described experiencing stomach problems after entering the water.

Information Designed to Create Change

Rob Worthington, one of the people who designed River Hub, said the project was created to turn public frustration into constructive action. The platform looks not only at where sewage spills happen but also at why some problems continue.

The project examines issues such as whether wastewater treatment facilities have enough capacity and whether improvements are planned for areas that repeatedly experience pollution.

An Idea Other Communities Can Use

Friends of the Dart says it is willing to share the model with other communities that want to monitor pollution in their own rivers.

For the people behind River Hub, the project is ultimately about taking responsibility for a place they care about. Instead of waiting for someone else to solve the problem, they are using information, technology and community cooperation to push for change.

Source: The Guardian, “It’s shocking really: Devon community tracks River Dart sewage spills”, October 3, 2026.