Every Single River in. England is Polluted

I care, and would like to join a campaign.
The problem is so many fold, not just Brexit, but also farming practices, water companies, individual household waste and climate change. My dogs swim daily in a river known for problems, but what can I do?

I think this is one of the tragedies of the century. I am ashamed that this has been allowed to happen under our noses. Together with the government, the water companies should hang their heads in shame. What a legacy.

The tragedy is listening to a family member spending years trying to clear up local rivers and reintroducing as much biodiversity as possible, including water voles (ratty) otters and hopefully beavers, then being utterly undermined by government legislation allowing further sewage, filth and chemicals to be poured into what was becoming something to be proud of.

Horrible isn’t it? Who’d go wild swimming after that report? Just as otters and beavers and fish are being reintroduced and we thought rivers were getting cleaner. All these new houses are being built without a thought for sewerage disposal etc.

I care. It's absolutely shocking.

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Yes, 25Avalon, entirely agree.
I took these photos last week on our river, just a mile or so away from where ghastly sewage discharges happen. It's totally incongruous.

Heartbreaking really. I can remember many years ago when rivers were so crystal clear that you could see little fish like stickle-backs swimming merrily and the more shallow ones you could see the bottom of the river.
So very sad to see the decimation of this planet in general and certainly seeing our local areas spoiled in this way.

Nobody cares---so long as they get rid of their rubbish they don't care where it goes. It'll impact on our drinking water if no care is taken and this laziness is allowed to continue.

It's appalling but of course leaving the EU allows us to trash all the environmental protections we had before Brexit!

I saw an article yesterday in the news saying that the water companies are being asked to keep at least one river clean enough for people to swim in. Either the Independent or the Guardian.

It's just occurred to me that where I live in the Cotswolds, quite a few people love to collect spring water from various springs and wells about the place. I've always eye rolled but even more so now!

The water companies are more concerned with paying dividends to shareholders than to the public. It is not a service industry. Thank you Mrs Thatcher.

Water should never have been privatised, there is absolutely no benefit to the consumer. It can be argued that the privatisation of electricity and gas gave us choice of provider, but we have no choice when it comes to the provision of clean drinking water and clean healthy waterways, a basic human right, surely?

Sorry, but we had no control over our energy supplier either, when Pure Planet folded, stuck with Shell now, of all suppliers! But back to the rivers, I agree with everything here, but that's what you get with privatisation/ Tory 'morals'!
Because of the electoral system (only shared by Belarus in all of Europe) and the new election bill, we might be stuck with them forever. Join the Green Party/ Greenpeace if you care, together we are stronger.

Rivers,streams have been contaminated for many years. Contaminants off fields is a biggy. Some farmers are hoping to increase the borders on fields so that there won't be such a short run off from fields hopefully trapping some of the chemicals. I shudder when I see someone scooping up some "crystal clear" water from a stream and drinking it. Was taught not to do that as a child. How did I know what was in the water flowing from higher up, could be a dead animal, human faeces (wild camping galore nowadays), chemicals for farming. Wild swimming, same as wild camping to me madness. There is nothing new, only more of it created by there being more of us wanting more and more.

There was no need to privatise water but the Tories saw another profit pile for their friends and failed to regulate adequately so the water companies dump into the rivers when demand exceeds processing capacity. Water should be taken into public ownership and the government should upgrade sewage processing plants and dams at reservoirs.

GillT57

Water should never have been privatised, there is absolutely no benefit to the consumer. It can be argued that the privatisation of electricity and gas gave us choice of provider, but we have no choice when it comes to the provision of clean drinking water and clean healthy waterways, a basic human right, surely?

I agree absolutely, GillT57 and thought that Tony Blair's government would put a halt to it.

Three years ago the water industry was claiming success and perhaps things did improve, as under public ownership rivers were polluted, water supplies were not always good, investment was desperately needed, but we seem to have gone into reverse now.

2019:
www.water.org.uk/blog-post/thirty-years-on-what-has-water-privatisation-achieved/

I agree with you. The water should be a national run situation. It is no good if one area is doing its best and then the next area is totally failing to deal properly with sewage etc. The rivers dont stop at borders they continue to flow through good and bad areas. I have sailed, at sea and in rivers, and travelled on canal boats and walked the riversides over many years and it is definitely getting worse. We were always very careful to take litter home and dispose of rubbish etc properly. If we do our best to use water carefully and properly wherever we are ourselves, then I feel we have every right to complain and get involved in campaigns to improve matters. Having lived abroad quite a lot, I was always shocked to come back to Britain and see cars being washed with drinking water and hoses left running. So much water is wasted . We used to have a simple switch on our shower, so that shower water - grey water - was diverted to a water butt, which was used for car washing, watering garden other than edible plants etc. Why dont they make all new properties have these saving water arrangements ? . A simple thing to do whilst building a house and if it is already there more people would use it and save water and expense. We must keep battling on and the more Green party politicians we can get will give at least a voice in parliament.

The rivers dont stop at borders
And sometimes are the border so having different rules or laws just does not work.

It's always been pretty bad I remember working for a huge dyeworks on 79s who were fined regularly for dumping chemicals in the local Mersey tributary in Derbyshire! It would turn green/red/orange etc depending on what process we were using! Trouble is is the water companies themselves, they simply don't care and shareholders come first! My mates dad was the manager of the local water treatment plant and he was an absolute stickler for procedures! We went on a trip to the plnaty(we had another name for it that involved the word farm...) And learned about the processes to make the water safe to be released into the system fascinating and really complicated , pollution did happen but nothing on the epic scale today, sad that yet again greed wins.we must all get behind campaigns for change

Grantanow

There was no need to privatise water but the Tories saw another profit pile for their friends and failed to regulate adequately so the water companies dump into the rivers when demand exceeds processing capacity. Water should be taken into public ownership and the government should upgrade sewage processing plants and dams at reservoirs.

HEAR HEAR! Agree 100% nil investment and no regard for anything but their own profits.

I live on a river in my narrow boat. The river birds are healthy and the water clear...I can see the fish swimming so I disagree that it is every river.

JillyJosie2

It's appalling but of course leaving the EU allows us to trash all the environmental protections we had before Brexit!

I saw an article yesterday in the news saying that the water companies are being asked to keep at least one river clean enough for people to swim in. Either the Independent or the Guardian.

It's just occurred to me that where I live in the Cotswolds, quite a few people love to collect spring water from various springs and wells about the place. I've always eye rolled but even more so now!

Happy clappies are the best laugh! Wild swimming? Spring water? Grow my own purple sprouting broccoli? Then scoffing a cartload of avocados(the most YUKKY food ever) that's stripped whole communities of their water supply to grow!!! Classic "I saw you coming" brigade!

Theoddbird

I live on a river in my narrow boat. The river birds are healthy and the water clear...I can see the fish swimming so I disagree that it is every river.

Narrow boat? Is it on a river then and not the canal system? I understand them to be a cat D boat for canals only?

Narrow boats. Where do your service on a river?

Er, what's wrong with growing your own broccoli Mummer? My parents always grew as much as they could and I've carried on doing so. That makes us all Happy Clappies? Bizarre comment.

Water should be taken into public ownership Precisely. In Scotland, Water and Sewage is publicly owned via Scottish Water. We pay for the service via an add on to our Council Tax- based on value of property rather than usage. I am not claiming that there is never rubbish dumped in lochs and rivers but that is by individuals rather than businesses and the culprits will be heavily fined.

Many years ago now, our water was polluted because of torrential rain up in the hills. Scottish water toured the village with a loudspeaker advising us what to do and parked at the shops where we could collect as many bottles of free fresh water as we needed.

Privatised Water & Sewerage is in abomination Not to mention a threat to public health. What next? privatise the air that we breath?