Latest news with #GilesBristow
Western Telegraph
19-05-2025
- General
- Western Telegraph
Locals attend Broad Haven for Surfers Against Sewage protest
Locals gathered at Broad Haven to demonstrate their concerns over the ongoing sewage crisis, which they say saw untreated sewage discharged more than once a minute, on average, across the UK last year. The Surfers Against Sewage protest in Pembrokeshire was one of more than 40 held across the country, calling for total reform of the water industry in England and Wales, and clearer monitoring and transparency of the sewage crisis. The message from protestors was clear. (Image: Jake Aldred) CEO at Surfers Against Sewage, Giles Bristow, said: 'Another year, another summer of swimming and surfing in sewage while our shameless water companies laugh all the way to the bank. The protest was one of over 40 held across the country. (Image: Jake Aldred) 'Our failing water industry has been trumpeting billions in investment to clean up their act, but we know that these fat cat bosses can't be trusted to keep their promises. Locals want their sea to be sewage free. (Image: Jake Aldred) 'The proof is in the missed targets, shocking statistics and devastating stories of sickness we continue to see year after year.' Data shows that less than one in five UK adults (19%) believe they will be able to swim safely at their local spot by 2030. (Image: Jake Aldred) New polling data shows that less than one in five UK adults (19%) believe they will be able to swim safely at their local spot by 2030 without risking their health due to sewage pollution. 'You are connected to the sea.' (Image: Jake Aldred) More than half (54%) worry they will get sick if they swim in the UK's rivers, lakes and seas. More than half (54%) worry they will get sick if they swim in seas. (Image: Jake Aldred) Meanwhile, more than a third (37%) believe the actions of their water supplier has negatively impacted their local community and less than a third (32%) trust the government to ensure water suppliers will reduce sewage spills. More than a third (37%) believe the actions of their water supplier has negatively impacted their local community. (Image: Jake Aldred) Giles added: 'We've had enough of their lies, greed and incompetence and know that this nightmare will not end until the whole water system is radically reformed. 'Stop pumping our dumping.' (Image: Jake Aldred) 'The thousands paddling out across the UK are letting the water companies, government and Independent Water Commission know, loud and clear, that we will not accept another year of risking our health to swim in the sea. 'Water slaughter.' (Image: Jake Aldred) 'People should be free to use the water without fear of getting sick, and that's why we developed the Safer Seas & Rivers Service, a free app that provides real-time pollution alerts, giving peace of mind for those worried about sewage pollution." Less than a third (32%) trust the government to ensure water suppliers will reduce sewage spills. (Image: Jake Aldred) Surfers Against Sewage is calling for ambitious and radical reform of the water industry in England and Wales, which puts the environment and public health ahead of profit, ending sewage pollution for good. Dŵr Cymru say they are investing heavily to help improve water quality in our rivers and seas. Jenny Grubb, Environment Advisor and Stakeholder Manager for Dŵr Cymru recently said: 'Welsh Water is investing £2.5bn over the next five years on projects to improve the environment. "Action from one sector won't be enough to improve our rivers, and the solutions we propose must be future proof and climate resilient. "We are keen to find partnership projects and to work with organisations that are delivering environmental improvements. "We hope that our investment will be boosted by working with others to ensure that river water quality continues to improve to the standard that we all want to see.'
ITV News
18-05-2025
- General
- ITV News
Surfers unite at sewage protests across the south
Campaigners from the south have joined a nationwide protest against sewage pollution in our seas and rivers. Surfers, swimmers and kayakers took part in a mass Paddle-Out at more than 40 sites across the country, including Brighton, Hastings, Boscombe, Ryde, Bournemouth and Lyme Regis, and at Victoria Park Boating Pond in Newbury. Co-ordinated by the environmental charity Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), the protests called for transformational reform of the water industry. They believe sewage pollution remains a threat to the UK's blue spaces and public health. The protests took place at the start of the official bathing season in England and Wales - which runs from 15 May to 30 September. Last year, there were 8,704 sewage discharges in England during the bathing season, an average of more than 60 a day. Stuart Davies, organiser of the Brighton Pier Paddle-Out Protest said: 'We are paddling out to call for total reform of the water industry because we seem to be in the same place each year. "We see record levels of sewage pollution in our blue spaces, especially here on the south coast. "It makes me extremely angry. Many a time, I have been personally affected. I can't go sea swimming. I can't go surfing. "I also volunteer for the Wave Project which provides surf therapy for young people. That's been cancelled a few times, and we couldn't go in the water." Giles Bristow, CEO at Surfers Against Sewage said: 'Our failing water industry has been trumpeting billions in investment to clean up their act, but we know that these fat cat bosses can't be trusted to keep their promises. "The proof is in the missed targets, shocking statistics and devastating stories of sickness we continue to see year after year. "We've had enough of their lies, greed and incompetence and know that this nightmare will not end until the whole water system is radically reformed." Southern Water says their Clean Rivers and Seas Plan shows how they intend to reduce storm overflows across the region. They say they have invested £1.6 billion into the company in recent years, to help deliver a "significant programme of improvement." On their website Thames Water says "We want to be very clear on our stance. "Putting untreated sewage into rivers is unacceptable to us, our customers and the environment.
BBC News
17-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Hundreds in Devon and Cornwall join paddle out sewage protests
Hundreds of swimmers, surfers and paddleboarders have taken to the sea in Cornwall and Devon as part of an annual protest against an "ongoing sewage scandal".The nationwide Paddle Out Protest, hosted by Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), took place across 42 bathing sites across the UK on Saturday, including Gylly Beach in Falmouth, as well as Porthmeor and Seaton in Cornwall; and Exmouth, Croyde and Plymouth Hoe in charity said water users in the south-west of England were paddling out "against South West Water's shocking record of sewage pollution".South West Water said its focus had been to reduce spills at beaches in the bathing season by 20% in the last five years. 'Stop this destruction' SAS CEO Giles Bristow, who attended the protest in Falmouth, said the organisation was holding water companies to account. He said: "We want this ocean to be clean, we want to be able to swim and surf in places like this and just enjoy it without the risk of getting sick; and we want to stop this destruction of our beautiful and precious environment."We want people to enjoy it, we want people to go in informed and make sure they're safe, but, ultimately, we've got to clean up these, quite frankly, dirty waters."Yes, they're telling us they're investing. The question is can we trust them to do this. So we're all here, we're watching and we're holding them to account." South West Water said it "fully respected" the rights of those who wish to protest peacefully. A spokesperson said: "We were one of only five companies in the industry to reduce spills compared to 2023. "Our focus has been to reduce spills at beaches in the bathing season by 20% in the last five years as we continue to focus on what our customers care about."We have also been focused on the highest-spilling sites from 2023 and have already removed three-quarters of the top 20 sites."There's more to do and we're committed to delivering real change for our customers as we spend record amounts to reduce our use of storm overflows."South West Water provides water and sewerage services to about 1.8 million customers in Devon and Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly, plus small parts of Dorset and Somerset.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Warning UK rivers are ‘toxic chemical soup' as all now plagued by sewage
All of the UK's rivers are now polluted with sewage with campaigners warning of a 'toxic chemical soup' in our waters. Leading campaign group Surfers Against Sewage is calling on the government and water companies to tackle the issue, as new data showed only 40 per cent of rivers are deemed to be good ecological health. According to the website Top of the Poops, which collects information on sewage dumps, found there were at least 513,234 spills into rivers in 2024, lasting more than 4 million hours. Sewage can harm wildlife and river ecosystems because chemicals – including everything from pharmaceuticals drugs to phosphates – entering the water from sewage systems are toxic. It can fuel the rapid growth of algae, which can choke out other forms of life by consuming all the oxygen. It can also be a source of E. coli, which can cause diarrhoea, stomach cramps and fever when ingested by swimmers. Wessex Water was listed as the worst offender, with 5,221 sewage spills into the River Avon, which runs through the southwest of England between Bath and Bristol. Other rivers with significant pollution include the River Trent with 3,186 spills last year, as well as the River Ouse in Yorkshire and the River Severn in the South West. In Wales, the River Teifi endured 2,232 sewage spills by Dwr Cymru Welsh Water over 22,288 hours. Consistent dumps were recorded in Cardigan Bay despite its popularity with swimmers, kayakers and its abundance of wildlife. In its annual water quality report, SAS recorded spills into Scotland's rivers and lochs every 90 seconds last year, with a lack of accuracy over its data leaving people unsure if it was safe to swim. The group said that while the 'missing data' means the true figure is not known, it could have been as high as 364,629 discharges. SAS chief executive Giles Bristow told The Independent: 'Every time we test the water we find a worse toxic chemical soup. It's pharmaceuticals, toxins, sewage - it's worse than we've feared, we can only describe it as a continued environmental degradation. 'We are the canaries in the coal mine, these are rivers and lakes that are poisoned with sewage fungus and toxic chemicals. 'Nature does not have a chance, yet we pay these water companies to clear up these issues.' SAS said it received 1,853 sickness reports in the UK last year, which it said was the equivalent of nine years' worth of sick days linked to sewage pollution. But it warned the true scale of sickness was likely to be 'far higher' as most people don't report it. Kirsty Davies, Community Water Quality Manager at Surfers Against Sewage: "Our rivers are in a dire state. 'People up and down the country rely on our blue spaces for their physical and mental wellbeing, but risk their health each time they take a dip. This is unacceptable and all thanks to our profiteering water companies, who treat our rivers like open sewers. "With the weather warming up and the official bathing season about to start, more and more people will be flocking to the UK's rivers and beaches to enjoy their natural beauty. 'However, these waterways remain choked with sewage pollution. Despite the government promising billions in further investment to clean up our waterways, we cannot end the sewage crisis until we see radical, systemic change and end to pollution for profit."
South Wales Argus
25-04-2025
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
Welsh Water tops UK chart for sewage discharges in 2024
According to Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), Welsh Water discharged sewage 118,276 times, an average of more than one sewage spills every five minutes and the highest number of confirmed discharges of any UK water company. The water provider discharged sewage for 968,340 hours and their target of 30 incidents per Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) by 2030, is significantly lower than the average target of 21 per CSO of other UK providers. Giles Bristow, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage, said: 'The sheer lack of ambition shown by Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water to reduce pollution shows they have no shame over the catastrophic levels of sewage they are spewing into Wales' beautiful coastline, rivers and lakes. 'With such clear mismanagement, it's no wonder that less than a quarter of people believe that their water supplier has used their bill payments responsibly. 'Welsh waters have been polluted for far too long and the whole system is to blame. Dŵr Cyrmu Welsh Water has been polluting regularly. 'A shambolic regulator has let them get away with it and the government is asleep at the wheel. It's time for change. With an election rapidly approaching, politicians in Wales need to stop stalling and start acting to get a grip on this broken system.' SAS received 1,853 sickness reports from UK water users and revealed the number of sick days likely linked to sewage pollution amounts to nine years' worth, with an estimated hit to the UK economy of £493,200. However, a spokesperson for Welsh Water, responded to the report and said: 'Both England and Wales are working to tackle issues surrounding storm overflows, with a slightly different focus. 'We operate over 2,300 storm overflows in Wales as we have a very high number of assets for a relatively small population. 'Many of our rural communities are served by smaller sewerage networks and storm overflows, which are essential to ensure networks do not become overwhelmed and flood properties. 'Wales is focused on tackling storm overflows that cause the most environmental harm first. In England, the focus is on reducing the numbers of spills. 'Also, as a country on the western side of the UK, we have some of the highest levels of rainfall. The more rainfall, the more times the sewer system is at capacity and will spill. 'Wales has some of the best bathing waters in the UK and 44% of our rivers in Wales are in good ecological status compared to 14% in England. 'Over the next five years we'll invest £2.5bn on projects to improve the environment, including £889m on investigating and improving storm overflows.'
