Water companies in England have apologised for repeated sewage spills. As one Tory MP enjoyed swimming in sewage, it seems.
Environment Agency figures earlier this year showed there were a total of 301,091 sewage spills in 2022, an average of 824 a day, simply disgusting.
As well as the apology, there has also been a £10bn investment for sewage spills, but as ever the devil is in the detail.
It has already been slammed, the Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, said: “This apology and plan just don’t go far enough. For years water companies have arrogantly dismissed the public’s fears of rivers, lakes and coastlines being damaged by sewage discharges.
Privatised water and sewage companies in the UK paid £1.4bn in dividends in 2022, up from £540m the previous year.
We are sorry
Ruth Kelly, the chair of Water UK, said: “The message from the water and sewage industry today is clear: we are sorry. More should have been done to address the issue of spillages sooner and the public is right to be upset about the current quality of our rivers and beaches.
“We have listened and have an unprecedented plan to start to put it right. This problem cannot be fixed overnight, but we are determined to do everything we can to transform our rivers and seas in the way we all want to see.”
Tory MP enjoyed swimming in sewage
Damian Green appeared on TV and seemed to revel in the days when he swam in sewage! This Tory MP enjoyed swimming in sewage, the glory days before the pesky EU stuck their noses in.
Dr Mike Galsworthy tweeted: “Dear @DamianGreen
“When you fondly recall swimming in sewage as a child, was that before we entered the common market then formation of the EU which brought in strict water & beach standards?
“Given you were born in 1956, I’m going to hazard a “yes”.”
Then Liz Webster followed up writing: “I was born a few years after Damian and grew up in Porthcawl and yes we swam with sewage until it was cleaned up after we joined Europe! Ask any of the older surfers down there to confirm we had 4 decades of no sewage and oil spills only to see Brexit bring them back.”
Or indeed this: “Only the woke want to not swim in sh*t.”
Another tweeted: “But just because something was put up with in the past, doesn’t mean we have to accept it now. We don’t send children up chimneys anymore either.”
A following message said: “My father caught polio swimming in sewage in the 1947 epidemic. It’s blighted every day of his life since he was 7. Your comment will go down in history Damian.”
Or indeed this…
Brexit
A blog by Jon Danzig had the following to say about membership of EU and clean beaches.
As reported by Friends of the Earth, who campaigned during the referendum for the UK to stay in the EU for the sake of our environment:
“The EU’s 1976 Bathing Water Directive – and successful legal action by the European Commission – has made our beaches as clean, clear and swimmable as they are today.
“But it wasn’t easy going…The UK fought hard to maintain the right to continue polluting.
“Successive UK governments exploited whatever loophole they could find. They pumped untreated sewage into our ocean until 1998 – longer than any other European country.
“Now, water quality at beaches is better than at any time in living memory, according to the Environment Agency.
“Some of the UK’s most beautiful and loved beaches are protected in this way: Watergate Bay in Cornwall, Druridge Bay in Northumberland, Croyde Beach in Devon and hundreds more which have reached good and excellent water-rating standards.”
When Britain leaves the EU, we will no longer be subject to the Bathing Water Directive.
Friends of the Earth said: “Without external EU pressure it seems likely that standards will slip. Staying in the EU delivers a win-win scenario of cleaner beaches and economic gain for sea-side economies.”
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