London protesters urge action on sewage-polluted rivers
Photo: March for Clean Water in London (screenshot from the video)
Thousands of people with placards reading “Stop the plop” and “Species not feces” marched in London on Sunday, demanding the cleanup of the country’s polluted waterways, according to Bloomberg.
Organizers estimated that 15,000 participants joined the march along the River Thames to Parliament, many dressed in blue and waving blue flags to create a “human river.”
The march for clean water was organized by a coalition of groups, including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and British Rowing.
Water pollution is becoming an increasingly visible issue in the UK, drawing attention to climate change and the consequences of the privatization of British utilities that occurred decades ago.
Private companies responsible for both water supply and sewage have failed to upgrade their Victorian infrastructure as the population has grown and demand has increased. Discharges are commonplace, and during heavy rains, companies release untreated sewage into rivers, lakes, and the sea. According to the Environment Agency, the number of discharges rose by more than 50% last year, reaching a record 464,000 spills.
Water companies claim that the industry regulator does not permit them to raise water bills sufficiently to fund improvements.
The Labour government, elected in July, has introduced a bill to strengthen regulation and increase penalties for water companies responsible for pollution. However, demonstrators insisted that more needs to be done.
