Campaigners Spill Fake Poo Outside Worthing Southern Water HQ

Monday, 13 March 2023 16:12

Members of Extinction Rebellion (XR) have gathered with placards and buckets of fake poo at Southern Water in Worthing to demand an end to the release of sewage into waterways.

On Monday morning (March 13) members of Extinction Rebellion wearing hazmat suits and respirators poured fake sewage outside the headquarters of Southern Water in Worthing.

Photo: XR

Campaigners unfurled banners reading “Cut The Crap” and delivered a letter demanding Southern Water stop illegally pouring untreated sewage into waterways and cease the payment of all bonuses, dividends and excessive executive wages until it has fixed the problems caused by years of excessive profit taking and underinvestment.

The letter, which they say was hand delivered, reads:

Dear Board members and Directors of Southern Water,

We are visiting you today to demand that you take urgent action to stop polluting our rivers and seas. Your illegal dumping of raw sewage is harming people and wildlife and must stop.

Despite posting huge profits and paying multi-million pound bonuses and dividends, you are failing to meet the most basic standards and to operate within the law.

As published by the Department of Health and Social Care in June 2023 “Use of our rivers for recreation and exercise is something to celebrate and encourage. Children have always played in waterways and always will, irrespective of what notices are put up next to them. People of all ages use freshwater waterways such as rivers for recreation including swimming and various forms of boating.”(1) Your current operating practices pose a risk to all those using our rivers and seas, with consequences ranging from the deeply unpleasant to downright dangerous.

We demand that you take responsibility for the impact of your company’s actions, that you cease the payment of all bonuses, dividends and excessive executive wages until you have stopped illegally pouring untreated sewage into our waterways and are at least operating within the parameters of the law.

As members of the Board, and as set out in your own code of ethics, you are the individuals selected to: “enhance the health and wellbeing of the communities we serve [...] by providing top quality drinking water, safely removing and treating wastewater, protecting and improving the environment and sustaining the economy.” So long as raw sewage is dumped in the environment, you are failing to do this.

You are not meeting the needs of customers; you are consistently raising bills while failing to protect the environment that your customers, and all life on Earth, rely upon.

You are not meeting the needs of the environment; you are polluting it with human faeces, sanitary and sexual health products, microplastics and forever chemicals.

Rivers and seas are on the frontline of our climate and ecological crises. To avert the worst impacts of these crises, and to enable nature to adapt, we need to stop sewage dumping now and the responsibility for this sits with you.

Yours sincerely,

Extinction Rebellion

[sources]

(1) A joint opinion piece from Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Office for England, Johnson Cox, Ofwat chair and Emma Howard Boyd, Environment Agency chair. From the Department of Health and Social Care.

Photo: Eddie Mitchell

In an update XR say that Southern Water refused to accept the letter.

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According to XR, with sources:

More than 70% of the water industry in England is owned by international investment funds, private equity firms and businesses lodged in tax havens. Since privatisation these firms have run up net debts of almost £54 billion and paid out dividends of £65.9 billion [01].

Meanwhile, water companies pumped raw sewage into Britain's seas and rivers for more than nine million hours over 2016-2021, an increase of 2,553% over five years [02]. Southern Water reportedly dumped sewage at beaches 493 times in eight days in November 2022, amounting to 3,700 hours of discharge [03].

Climate change is increasing the likelihood of heavy or intense rainfall across the UK [04]. This leads to higher risks of river and surface water flooding, which puts pressure on water and sewage systems. Research shows the sewage overspills result from lack of infrastructure investment which leads to environmental deterioration and presents a human health hazard [05] and puts biodiversity at risk.

According to Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty

“Nobody wants a child to ingest human faeces.” [06]. A joint statement from Ofwat and the Environment Agency went on to say: “The principal public health responsibility for ensuring human faeces and viable human faecal bacteria do not get into waterways people might use recreationally, rest squarely with the water companies and their directors.” [07].

Due to lack of regulation and legislation, water companies are pumping pollution into waterways more often. In 2021, Southern Water received a £90 million fine after pleading guilty to illegal sewage discharges that polluted rivers and coastlines in the south of England [08].

Tom Maidment (38), a sales manager from Uckfield, said:

“It's disgusting that Southern Water feel paying huge bonuses and dividends is appropriate whilst they fail in their most basic responsibility of operating within the law. The amount of sewage they illegally dump into our waterways make them unusable and unsafe for the local population and deadly to local wildlife. The fact they put profits, bonuses and dividends ahead of their customers' safety and their environmental responsibilities shows their attitude towards the issue is as disgusting as what they’re pumping out."

Brighton-based Nicola Harries (68), retired grandmother of four added:

“My young grandchildren love to play in the sea. Southern Water is putting their health and the health of all sea swimmers and water sport enthusiasts at serious risk by allowing untreated sewage to be discharged into the sea. It is putting profit before people and planet. This is completely unacceptable and must stop.”

Extinction Rebellion is inviting everyone to Westminster from 21 April 2023 to demand a safer, more equal future for all. Find out more here:

https://extinctionrebellion.uk/the-big-one/

‘Dirty Water’ is a campaign about the dreadful and deteriorating state of the UK's waterways. It builds on the work already done by Extinction Rebellion Deep Water but is a campaign for everyone to get involved in from water users and nature groups to concerned citizens.