Action: Dirty Water - Do It from Home
Right now UK water companies are plunging our waterways and their fragile ecosystems into a toxic crisis, with 75% of UK rivers posing a serious risk to human health.* Huge volumes of raw sewage and run-off mean the UK is ranked last in Europe for bathing water quality.
Habitats such as kelp beds are being damaged, and biodiversity reduced, along with the ocean’s ability to store carbon. All this is happening whilst our water companies have handed £57 billion in payouts to their CEOs and shareholders over the last 30 years.
View the Dirty Water Wave 6 action pack here, to see what you can do in your local community, plus click Act Now to view nine effective digital actions below that you can take right now, from home or wherever you are. Let’s fight to put an end to the UK water pollution and corruption scandals!
Whilst sewage pollution causes massive algae blooms, starving water of oxygen and resulting in the death of river and ocean species, the water companies’ negligent management has resulted in a combined debt pile rising to almost £60.3bn - leaving customers to foot the bill.
Shocking research by the Liberal Democrats (Oct 2024) revealed that water company executive bonuses rose to £9.1m in 2023/2024. The bosses of disgraced firms received over £20m in total, including basic pay, pension contributions and bonuses.
The Surfers Against Sewage Water Quality Report 2023, says 60% of inland bathing spots monitored over the 2023 bathing season would be classified as ‘poor’ based on Environment Agency methods. Yet for the year ending March 2023, water companies in England paid out nearly £11 million to CEO’s and £1.4 billion in dividends (even more than in 2022).
*Reference https://www.sas.org.uk/water-quality/water-quality-facts-and-figures/
Find out more
Visit these links to find out more about the Dirty Water Campaign:
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Your mission
9 effective actions you can take where and when it suits you
Under 15 minutes
Email your MP to attendant and support the Water Bill debate on 28th March. Clive Lewis’s private members bill calls for a Citizens’ Assembly & national conversation on the UK water industry, to look at the alternatives to privatisation, models in other countries, and the challenges of climate change.
Support and amplify the work of Citizens Arrest Network - who are holding those making the decisions driving the worst environmental pollution directly to account.
18th March 2024 - Citizen's arrest of Thames Water CEO
24th March 2024- Citizen's arrest of EnQuest CFO
Under 30 minutes
Register for the Autumn 2025 Great UK WaterBlitz in September, where you can get a water testing kit and measure the water quality of your local river, stream, lake and pond to feed into data that captures a snapshot of the health of our rivers throughout the country.
Demand 'No more Sh*t in our Waters' with Friends of the Earth. Help build the biggest ever public record of support for enshrining our right to a healthy environment in law. Let's make our new government listen.
Hold Thames Water accountable for non-stop Sewage Discharge, whilst paying £45.2 million in shareholder dividends in 2022/23.
Call for an investigation and independent panel inquiry into the death of 7 year old Zane, who died when hydrogen cyanide was found in his home as floodwater rose beneath.
45 minutes or more
Leave a negative 1 star Google review for our UK water companies.
You can personally expose the truth for all to see in your reviews, and damage their public image.
Don’t Buy Willow-branded chicken sold at Tesco.
24 million chickens farmed in the Wye area have been identified as a major cause of pollution to the River Wye. Plus the chickens are fed on Cargill-Avara soya farmed in Brazil, causing mass deforestation of the rainforest with devastating effects on indigenous peoples and ecosystems.
Tell @TESCO directly on social media why you won't by their chicken with #SavetheWye and #CheapChickenAintCheap.
Call on Nando's CEO to protect Britain's rivers:
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