Inis has recently been commissioned to undertake a series of Small Streams Risk Score (SSRS) assessments. Inis regularly undertakes a wide range of Aquatic Ecology related surveys and commissions for a variety of applications and clients- including SSRS.
The Small Streams Risk Score (SSRS) is a biological risk assessment system for identifying rivers that are definitely ‘at risk’ of failing to achieve the ‘good’ water quality status goals of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). It was developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in association with the Western River Basin District (WRBD) in 2006.
The SSRS method is a rapid field methodology for risk assessment that is based solely on macroinvertebrate indicators of water quality and their well-understood response to pollution. The SSRS method is a method for defining streams that are ‘at risk’. The method produces a continuous score and threshold values are used to decide on the degree of risk at a site. It is possible to compare ‘before’ and ‘after’ scores, which may be useful in assessing the potential impact of any given development. The photo below shows some typical Mayflies.
