Isn’t it time we treated the pollution of our rivers by private water firms as government policy?
This Site has been quiet about the ongoing crisis of the UK’s waterways being polluted with thousands of tonnes of untreated sewage lately. The reason is simply that individual stories – snapshots – don’t give you a chance to appreciate the full horror of what is happening.
The following video clip might help, though.
In it, Professor Jamie Woodward points out that not only has the government allowed privatised water firms to dump all that toxic waste into the local ecosystem, but it has slashed the budget of the regulator that is supposed to monitor any such pollution, down to one-third of what it used to be – and some may say that this wasn’t enough in the first place:
Prof Jamie Woodward(Manchester University) – "Any other industry that dumps toxic waste in the environment, the CEOs would go to prison… it's still an incredibly profitable activity to dump untreated sewage in rivers… we need to implement fines…"#BBCBreakfast pic.twitter.com/60EMeRMTZ3
— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) August 4, 2023
With only limited means of monitoring pollution by water companies, the regulator has no way of knowing the level of harm being done. This could then be flung in all our faces by the government if we try to complain that we’re being pelted with you-know-what so that these firms can make a profit. It could be used as an excuse to do nothing.
In fact, the following suggests that it is currently being used as such an excuse:
Want to have your local river designated as bathing water?
Not unless there is at least 100 swimmers a day using that bit of river and toilets within 500 metres (1,640ft) you won't.
You'd almost think govt were trying hid something. They are; sewage.https://t.co/dH8NrEDgkn
— Feargal Sharkey (@Feargal_Sharkey) July 11, 2023
But with no meaningful enforcement from the Environment Agency or the government, there is no reason for the water companies to stop polluting the UK.
It’s a lot more profitable than actually doing their job, which is to treat our sewage so that nothing harmful escapes into the environment at all.
The upshot of all this is that we get warnings like this:
"Swimmers warned to stay out of sea at Sundersfoot due to sewage dump."
How many of these headlines are we going to see for the duration of the school holidays I wonder?https://t.co/NL6JPCOmbB
— Feargal Sharkey (@Feargal_Sharkey) July 23, 2023
Also this:
"Children warned 'one splash in pond or stream could cripple or kill you' after outbreak of deadly rat disease."
For someone who's had Weil’s Disease and survived I can assure you it was not funny.https://t.co/OdKQsyDbnx
— Feargal Sharkey (@Feargal_Sharkey) July 8, 2023
For those of you heading west over the next few weeks.
"Cornwall sea and rivers are most polluted by sewage in the UK. Sewage was pumped into Cornwall's waters for nearly 80,000 hours last year."https://t.co/PqjRM5NO7b
— Feargal Sharkey (@Feargal_Sharkey) July 8, 2023
One water company – Thames Water – seemed to be facing re-nationalisation because its business plan was not only harmful to the environment but had brought it to the brink of bankruptcy…
Why hasn't Thames Water been taken into democratic public ownership yet?
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) July 12, 2023
And what happened?
Thames Water's shareholders say they've agreed to put £700m into the company.
Less than a year ago they said they would put £1.5bn into the company. That didn't happen.
Why would you believe them?https://t.co/p0Gj6xczUN
— Feargal Sharkey (@Feargal_Sharkey) July 10, 2023
That’s right – shareholders promised to invest, in order to keep the money flowing to them and the crap flowing at us.
And it seems that while we’ve been gagging on the crap they’re pumping at us, Thames Water bosses have been gagging their own employees:
Appears the quality of the our river water matches the quality of the senior management team at @thameswater. https://t.co/iYSxRdJxYJ
— Feargal Sharkey (@Feargal_Sharkey) July 14, 2023
Then we discovered that the firm is planning to increase its bills, to save itself from collapse. There is not even the slightest hint that any of that money will be used to purify the water it pumps into our rivers.
Thames Water boss says it’s an “unfortunate truth” that bills will have to rise to save the company from collapse.
I’ve got a different unfortunate truth: privatisation has been a complete and utter failure.
Enough is enough — put water back into public hands!
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) July 14, 2023
After all of last week's shenanigans I wonder if @thameswater's acting CEO Cathryn (I will not apologise) Ross will withdraw her comments about putting up customers' bills to compensate for her failures as the regulator and TW's corporate greed?https://t.co/eZmkw8XY2H
— Feargal Sharkey (@Feargal_Sharkey) July 17, 2023
And what use is purified water when the pipes through which it runs are made of lead – and are therefore toxic – because the water companies haven’t replaced the infrastructure, as they were expected to?
"Exclusive: UK water companies have failed to replace three million toxic lead pipes."
You have been warned.https://t.co/Esvp6PUXin
— Feargal Sharkey (@Feargal_Sharkey) July 8, 2023
The infrastructure is also leaking around 1.1 TRILLION litres of water out of the system every year, according to Ofwat. Then the water companies tell us we have to have hosepipe bans. They are telling us to go without the service we deserve so they can have the profit they don’t.
Typical water industry nonsense.
There is only one reason we have hosepipe bans, instead of spending our money on infrastructure they paid out billions to shareholders
.
That’s it. That’s all you need to know. https://t.co/0FH2eLbLqo— Feargal Sharkey (@Feargal_Sharkey) July 9, 2023
The following report actually states in black-and-white that this is what is happening:
South East Water paid £156m in dividends, £72.8m in interest over the last two years.
This surpassed the £179.8m spent on infrastructure.
Company dumps sewage, leaks unplugged, real increase in water charges, no new reservoirs.
Privatisation is a scam.https://t.co/sqvijzFF6h
— Prem Sikka (@premnsikka) July 8, 2023
Here are a few more barmy ideas – appropriately from the boss of Thames Water – along with appropriate commentary from our friend Feargal Sharkey:
"People with large gardens should pay higher bills says Thames Water boss."
Well that's really going to fix the £14bn black hole in @thameswater's accounts.
Is there any danger of a water company actually hiring someone who knows what they're doing?https://t.co/55VOSsOwex
— Feargal Sharkey (@Feargal_Sharkey) July 12, 2023
Cathryn Ross co-CEO of Thames Water says don't flush your loo unless it's brown
But she has six toilets, a 32ft pool, a hot tub and a loft sauna at her five-bedroom £1.7 million home, set in nearly an acre of land. pic.twitter.com/b7ajiM1VK5
— Louis 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 〓〓 💙 Defend the right to vote (@LouisHenwood) July 16, 2023
Piling even more insult on top of all this injury, one of the worst-performing water companies was named company of the year at the Water Industry Awards, 2023:
"Anglian Water named one of worst performing water companies by Environment Agency."
That of course came just 3 days after @AnglianWater was named company of the year at the Water Industry Awards 2023. What a farce.https://t.co/lPORmACAb8
— Feargal Sharkey (@Feargal_Sharkey) July 17, 2023
Remember that you have a human right to water, meaning that if one of the privatised companies fails, the state has to pick up the bill to put it right via renationalisation.
So, far from being the salvation of this vital national utility – as it has been described recently by ministers pointing out that investment in water was a very low priority when it was privatised – the sale of water to private shareholders has destroyed our system while the people causing the damage have extracted huge fortunes from it.
And the government that should have been safeguarding the interests of customers who are forced to rely on these large monopoly businesses has deliberately blinded the watchdog organisations.
That is enemy action. Your government – and the water firms – are your enemies; they are charging you a fortune to let them poison you.
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Fascist tories only care about ensuring all these private water companies never ever have to be charged with endangering public health! Very soon water will be undrinkable because these private water companies are polluting all our rivers and waterways so outbreaks of cholera and typhoid will become a reality!
DEFRA too is a pawn of the fascist tories and Denise Coffey only acts to protect her master that carpet salesman Rishi Sunak. How dare Greenpeace drape oil black fabric over Sunak’s lavish and extravagant home! Sunak is a politician so he must expect to be subjected to peaceful protest action! Greenpeace are correct fascist tories have always ignored expert environmental scientists because profit is the only subject fascist tories are interested in hearing!
DEFRA is a useless pawn of the fascist tories because they have decimated staff at this department.
Can’t wait for the fascist tories to announce water rationing and don’t worry all the bottled water will be distributed primarily to the greedy money grabbing fascist tories not us peasants!
Excellent article for environmentalists like myself.