Thousands take to London streets demanding cleaner water

LONDON: Thousands of people marched through central London on Sunday demanding action on cleaning up Britain’s rivers and seas.Environmental activist and singer Feargal Sharkey and Fast Show comedian Paul Whitehouse were among those joining The March for Clean Water, which was backed by groups including Greenpeace, the Wildlife Trusts and British Rowing.

“Who likes dirty rivers? Not I. Lots of people love to use the rivers, waterways, and they’re under threat from agricultural pollution and from the water companies,” said Whitehouse, star of hit UK show “Gone Fishing”.

Protesters are demanding reviews of water regulator Ofwat and the Environment Agency along with stricter enforcement for water companies who break existing pollution rules.

River Action said that there were around 15,000 marchers, who were encouraged to wear blue and to bring a sample from a body of water close to their heart.Many wore elaboratecostumes, while others held signs reading “tides not turds,” “cut the crap” and “water for life”.

Jenny Linford, a 61-year-old food writer, said that it was “disgusting what has happened to our waters since the water companies were privatized”.“It’s absolutely obscene that Britain’s rivers and lakes and seas are having more sewage pumped into them.”

“We’re here because we want to speak up for water... and just say to politicians ‘please act’,” she said, adding that the issue was a factor in the Conservative Party’s defeat in the July election.

The new Labour government last month set out legislation that will give regulators powers to issue harsher penalties, including prison sentences, to polluting water companies and their executives.Lewis Pugh, endurance swimmer and ocean advocate, said the march was “an opportunity to tell government that we really do need them to sort out what’s happening in our rivers”.

“When you allow agricultural runoff to go into rivers, or industrial waste or plastic pollution to go into rivers, not only do you kill the river and everything in it, but it goes into our oceans and does exactly the same thing,” he added.

Water UK, the industry’s trade association, acknowledged that the current system “is not working”.“It is too complicated, too slow and is not delivering for people or the environment,” said a spokesperson.

“We cannot delay upgrading and expanding vital infrastructure any longer and need Ofwat to reconsider its approach,” it added. Around 100 protesters turned out for a similar march in Northern Ireland capital Belfast.

Siobhan Keegan, who open swims in Northern Ireland’s Lough Neagh, said that she had not been able to “dunk” in the lake for the past two summers due to bacterial build up. “If we don’t act now it’ll be too late for future generations,” she warned.