Ribble otter sighting points to improved water quality

The sighting of an otter in the river Ribble points to a marked improvement in the east Lancashire waterway.

Otters have not been seen in the Ribble since the industrial revolution, but a recent water monitoring survey has show that the mammals are making a comeback.

The Ribble is one of ten rivers to be placed into an Environment Agency pilot project aimed at boosting water quality and encouraging wildlife to return.

Key to the pilot project's success is the bolstering of relations between farmers, local communities and businesses.

Speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph, Toby Willison, north-west director at the EA, said: "Otters, salmon and other wildlife choosing to live in the north-west's shows us that our rivers are the healthiest they've been since the industrial revolution."

He added that otters had almost become extinct in the region and the resurgence was a good sign that pollution control and monitoring was improving.

Recently, the World Wildlife Fund published a report highlighting the dangers increasingly-urbanised life is having on the access to safe, clean drinking water.

Posted by Joseph Hutton