Most of the Earth’s water is in the oceans (97 per cent) or locked away as ice. The largest volumes of freshwater are stored underground as groundwater, accounting for about 0.6 per cent of the total. Only a tiny fraction (0.01 per cent) is present as fresh surface water in lakes, streams and rivers. But it is this proportion which is so important for many of our terrestrial ecosystems, including humans.

The quality of this fresh water is vitally important. We depend on surface and groundwater sources for drinking, but we also use water to generate energy, to grow crops, to harvest fish, to run machinery, to carry wastes, to enhance the landscape and for a great deal more: for washing and cleaning, industrial abstraction, recreation, cooking, gardening and angling, as well as simply for enjoyment and recreation.

Water is essential for all life and as a habitat for both freshwater and marine species.

As ecological consultants, we are often required to determine water quality with regard to the health of ecosystems. As well as undertaking all the usual physical and chemical laboratory tests for clients, Betts Environment particularly focus on biological determinations since it is the biota in ditches, streams, ponds, rivers, lakes, estuaries and seas that best reflect ecological quality over time. Our experts use various sampling techniques and procedures and then employ their identification skills and biometrics for analysis and interpretation. Biological determinations of this kind are important for the understanding of ecological data. They play a critical role in predicting environmental change and its consequences, and in providing solutions where there are problems.

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