‘It’s time to reclaim our right to clean and abundant water for all people across the UK.’

In 2023, sewage was dumped in UK rivers over 596,666 times. That’s once every minute. From January to late March this year, Thames Water had pumped human waste into the Greater London area of the River Thames for a staggering 1,914 hours – equivalent to 79 days, as revealed by River Action.  

The same can be said about United Utilities in the North West. The water company, which serves seven million customers, has faced heavy criticism for its environmental record. In 2023, the company was recorded discharging sewage for over 650,000 hours – the equivalent of nearly 75 years’ worth of continuous dumping.

Last week, Feargal Sharkey, the legendary Undertone’s frontman and environment campaigner, visited the River Tame, near Stockport, to place one of the country’s biggest water companies, United Utilities, under the microscope.

He found that nitrates and phosphates – which can spawn blue-green algae, a highly toxic constellation of microscopic organisms, capable of causing illness in humans and fatalities in wildlife – were both present in quantities beyond target levels.

Meanwhile, the bosses of water companies are raking in billions. Bonuses to water company bosses rose this year to £9.1m. Executives from English and Welsh water firms received a total of £9,126,858 in the 2023/2024 financial year, up from £9,012,777 a year earlier, according to recent analysis of company filings compiled by the Liberal Democrats. Pension contributions also increased to £1.68m from £1.55m.

James Wallace, CEO of River Action, highlighted the irony of the situation.

“Nearly all our rivers have been polluted by water companies which, since privatisation over 30 years ago when all their debt was wiped, have adopted vulture-like business models. This has led to money from honest water bill payers ending up lining the pockets of investors with multi-billion-pound dividends and interest from debt. The water companies chose this instead of fixing their leaky pipes, investing in new sewage systems and reservoirs,” he said.

To put water pollution firmly on the map, today –  Sunday November 3 – clean water activists, alongside hundreds of organisations and sports groups, are gathering in London for the March for Clean Water protest. The mass rally is being led by Sharkey, who said it was time for everyone to demand action from leaders.

Dressed in blue to form a huge human river, the campaigners are meeting at Albert Embankment at 11am. The demonstration will march through Central London to Parliament Square where a rally will be taking place.

The organisers invited people to take samples of water from their local rivers, canals, and seas, to the march, have been added to a giant water vessel at the event.

Entrepreneur and Dragons Den star Deborah Meaden is one of the celebrities supporting the campaign. She said: “No business should be allowed to profit at the expense of our rivers, seas, and lakes. It’s time for our elected leaders to take decisive action and restore our waterways to full health.”

Broadcaster and environmentalist Chris Packham is joining the march. “We really need to see the government now stepping up and making sure that they can compel our water companies to get moving and fix these problems as quickly as possible,” he said.

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