About the Oxford Rivers Portal
The Oxford Rivers Portal has been developed as part of the GOVAQUA project (Governance transitions for sustainable and equitable water use in Europe).
GOVAQUA is a pan-European project, co-funded by the European Union (Grant agreement ID: 101086578) and UKRI (Project reference: 10063130).
It aims to accelerate a transition towards sustainable and equitable water use by better water governance.
'Sustainable' means that water is not overused, and the environment, biodiversity and the climate are protected. 'Equitable' means that the use of water resources is fair and just.
This will foster changes so that freshwater resources (rivers, streams, lakes, groundwater) are used in a greener and fairer way. The project will identify good practices and further co-develop, assess and validate these in six real-world living labs.
Living Labs
A key part of the project are six 'Living Labs', each in a different country, running from August 2023 to July 2026.
The Living Labs are:
- Collaborative initiatives,
- Catalysing innovation,
- In real-life settings,
- Promoting a transition towards sustainability.
Each Living Lab focusses on one or more of the following areas (Oxfordshire focus highlighted):
Legal and regulatory change
Participatory and collaborative approaches
Economic and financial instruments
Digital solutions
Our aim
The River Thames and its tributes in Oxfordshire are used by thousands of people every year to swim, paddle and play. They also support incredible wildlife and supply most of our drinking water.
However, rivers across the Thames basin are in trouble. Only 6% are classified as in "good ecological health". Most stretches are polluted by sewage and runoff from agriculture and roads. Many places in the region are at risk from flooding.
Until now, it's been difficult to find up-to-date information about the water quality of our local rivers.
This is why we created the Oxford Rivers Portal. Our aim is to help people safely use their local rivers and make it easier to understand the issues facing rivers. This will help us understand what we can do to make rivers healthy again.
Find out more
If you want to find out more or become more closely involved with the Oxfordshire Living Lab, please email Kat Botte.
The partners for the Oxfordshire Living Lab are: