Water Quality

We are currently updating the content on these web pages to provide you with the latest information and resources. The refreshed pages will be available shortly. Thank you for your patience.

The water quality of the Severn Estuary is an important indicator of the overall health of the Estuary’s ecosystem. It influences tourism, recreational activities, and industry, where higher quality waters are sought out for these activities. Influences on water quality in the Estuary are complex and complicated. With many inputs from numerous different sources and complex interactions between contaminants and ‘master variables’ (e.g. salinity and dissolved oxygen). It is a huge task to monitor and control these. Due to the high levels of suspended sediment (silt suspended in the water column), contaminants often ‘attach’ to the sediment particles, meaning sediment quality is also an important issue in the Estuary.