Phosphorus

In an exciting environmental collaboration, NIVA and the Polish company APRS have teamed up to tackle phosphorus in lakes and rivers.

In the BEDREVANN project, we will study the impact of cyanotoxin-contaminated irrigation water in agriculture and the risk to food producers and end users with Akersvannet in Vestfold as a pilot area. Akersvannet is a highly nutrient-rich lake with annual blooms of toxin-producing cyanobacteria. Water from the lake is used to irrigate surrounding agricultural areas where vegetables are largely grown, and this can pose a risk to safe food production.

The programme collects monitoring data from approximately 20 countries in Europe and North America to monitor and investigate the extent to which air pollution affects lakes and rivers, particularly regarding acidification, heavy metals and pollutants.

Together with NIBIO, we carry out operational monitoring of rivers and lakes in the Morsa water area (Vansjø-Hobølvassdraget).