Water quality and biological data from the River Thames and its tributaries (1997 to 2013)

These data sets provide chemical and biological data from common monitoring sites across the Thames Catchment. They comprise of comprehensive weekly water quality data at multiple sites along the River Thames and its tributaries, intermittently from 1997 to 2007 (UK Lowland River Chemistry data set), and then continuously at 22 monitoring sites at weekly intervals (from March 2009 to February 2013) as part of the CEH Thames Initiative Programme. These two chemistry data sets cover a period of rapid change in water quality across the Thames catchment, due largely to improvements in sewage treatment.

In addition, organic pollutant concentrations (11 antibiotics, 3 decongestants and an antiviral) at 21 of the CEH Thames Initiative sites from November 2009 to May 2011, and species-level macrinvertebrate community and habitat data from 14 CEH Thames Initiative sites (2009-2010) are provided. These matched observations allow links between organic and inorganic pollution to be investigated at common sites, and how these pollutants impact on river invertebrate community structure.