A?PILOT study to help tackle diffuse pollution from farms and urban areas is to take place on the River Tamar.

The Environment Agency will deploy state of the art technology in what is part of a programme of 8,500 studies it will carry out to help improve the quality of rivers over the next two years.

Improvements in water quality over the last two decades have mainly been achieved through successful action on pollution from sources such as factories and sewage treatment works.

The pilot study on the Tamar will involve a variety of sensors being placed in the river to sample water quality and send the results back electronically to a central location. New software will allow the sensors to provide an instant snapshot of the health of the river. 

If successful and cost-effective, the agency will look at using the technology in other problematic areas around the country.

The trial on the Tamar starts this month and lasts for an initial five months. Eleven sensors will be placed along a 20km stretch and will help identify and tackle the problem of agricultural pollution in the river. 

Although the river is cleaner than 20 years ago, the impact of diffuse pollution has continued to create challenges in some stretches. 

Last month, the agency published its annual classification of water quality in rivers in England – revealing they are the cleanest they have been since the Industrial Revolution.