The River, which runs from East Dean, through to Singleton, West Dean and Chichester, scored a ‘D’ on the Sussex charity’s newly-published scorecard system, which is designed to give members of the public an easy shorthand for river health in the area.

Photo: Western Sussex River Trust

The overall catchment score is compiled from a year’s worth of samples from all sites in the waterbody, as well as a range of River Guardian Surveys and external data, to evaluate each river based on a number of criteria.

Although the River Lavant scored well for its low numbers invasive non-native species, and low turbidity, it was let down by high pollution rates and low levels of phosphates.

Pollution in the River Lavant, according to the River Trust, is particularly bad – ranking ‘very low’ on the charity’s scorecard system, with some 34 instances of fly-tipping, 14 instances of road run-off, and 8 instances of outfall discharging over the period measured

The Western Rother, which runs directly through Midhurst, fared somewhat better, earning a ‘Fair’ ranking from the charity’s team of River Guardians. The river body performed well in part thanks to its low turbidity and number of invertebrates, but scored poorly on measures like pollution, which remains high.

The project at large covers rivers from all over East Hampshire and Western Sussex, including the Pagham Rife, the Aldingbourne Rife and the Boldings Brook. Each river is given a score from A – meaning excellent – to F – meaning Very Poor – based on the following factors, which are used to indicate the each water body’s respective health.

• Invertebrates – the number of invertebrates living in the watercourse

• Number and diversity of invasive non-native species, which can degrade habitats and biodiversity.

• Turbidity, which measures the water’s murkiness, which could be caused by suspended particles from soil or road dirt washing into the waterbody.

• Pollution, which is a summary of EA storm overflow event duration monitoring data and visual assessment by the River Guardians.

• Nitrogen, which comes from fertilizer, wastewater, manure and auto-emissions and can contaminate drinking water

• a Habitat score, which is derived from a river habitat survey outlining the abundance and quality of habitats near the river

• Total dissolved solids – the more minerals salts and metals dissolved in a body of water, the more conductive it might be, which can often indicate the presence of pollutants.

• Phosphate – this is a vital organism for the growth of all organisms, found in natural and artificial fertilisers alike. Natural levels are low, so noticeable levels are likely down to human interference.

To find out more, and for the full list of scorecards, visit https://wsrt.org.uk/ and https://wsrt.org.uk/get-involved/water-monitoring/river-health-scorecards