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Tag: Sewage

Myth Busting: Would it really cost £100 billion to bring water utilities into public ownership?

Posted on by Molly Allen
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By Dr Samir Seddougui

Whenever the conversation turns to the cost of nationalising the water industry or even just exploring public benefit and ownership models instead of continuing with deep privatisation, the government references the scarily high figure of £90-100 billion to dampen public support. 

On 16 September, Defra released a short policy paper outlining the rationale behind its estimation that nationalising the water industry would cost approximately £100 billion. A similar number was reached in a 2018 Social Market Foundation report paid for by four water companies (Anglian Water, Severn Trent, South West Water and United Utilities). The Social Market Foundation’s estimation takes the RCV from 2018 which was estimated at £64 billion and then added premiums for acquisition, so presumably their estimation would be even higher now.

Defra based this on three assumptions that: 

  1. the value of Water Companies should be tied to their Regulatory Capital Value (RCV); 
  2. the government would absorb equity and debt; and 
  3. no discounts or premiums should apply. 

 

Inflated Economics? 

Let’s be clear: this isn’t rigorous economic analysis. It is a simplistic and unrealistic theory being relied on by the government to justify not taking decisive action in public and environmental interests by putting failing companies like Thames Water into a special administration regime. What it protects are investors and an unsustainable cycle of debt servicing. 

Professor Ewan McGaughey, professor of Law at King College London and co-author of the People’s Commission argues that public ownership is an inexpensive solution, contending that the true cost is closer to zero as a more accurate market valuation would account for performance and financial failures.

As Economics Professor Sir Dieter Helm puts it, Defra’s estimate is “misleading, simplistic and wrong”. In his analysis published on 22 September, Helm sets out why each of Defra’s assumptions is wrong and goes on to explain why special administration for a failing water company such as Thames Water would make sure the business continues on a sustainable basis, giving it “breathing space” before, the special administrator would “almost certainly achieve a price which is at a significant discount to the RCV” with debt holders taking a “haircut”. 

When valuing a utility company such as Thames Water, RCV is only one factor a buyer would weigh. Helm argues that a company’s failure to maintain assets and its debt levels are central to any realistic valuation. The People’s Commission notes that RCV ignores another glaring reality: water companies have extracted £83 billion in dividends to shareholders. Karol Yearwood at the University of Greenwich has described the privatised water industry as a “cash machine for investors”. Today, the biggest beneficiaries are historic shareholders and debt holders keen to cash in on the roughly £17 billion debt Thames Water has been allowed to rack up. 

Since privatisation 32 years ago, Thames Water has handed £7.2 billion pounds to shareholders, while neglecting essential upgrades leaving the public with failing pipes, sewage discharges, and degraded waterways.

Defra also glosses over Thames Water’s massive debt pile and fines including a record-breaking £123 million penalty this year for serious pollution that continues to devastate our rivers. Polluters should foot the bill, not taxpayers. Under a special administration regime, customer payments would flow to court-appointed administrators to fund the operation of essential water services, instead of being paid out to as returns to shareholders who would go to the back of the queue, making the process far less of a financial burden than Defra claims. In fact, as Helm points out, it would exceed the cost of running the business.

 

The cost of and case for special administration 

The Government says that special administration of Thames Water would cost the government £4 billion. This is also overblown: on Helm’s analysis, the Government should recover its costs from the sale of Thames Water which, when offered for sale, would receive bids way in excess of £4 billion. The net cost to the Treasury should be zero. 

Helm also explains why special administration is not nationalisation, as it is often misleadingly labelled or conflated as a tactic to avoid having to use it. Special administration is a regime designed specifically to deal with water company failure and it offers the most effective way out of the mess Thames Water is in.  It should not be feared but favoured.

Dieter Helm cuts through the noise: “What is needed now is for Defra to put Thames into special administration, instead of putting out simplistic and ill-thought-through “assumptions” to support an implausible, very big round number.” 

We are also pursuing a Judicial Review against DEFRA for failing to set out clear thresholds for when a company should be put into SAR. In our view, this failure breaches core public law duties and leaves rivers and communities at the mercy of failing operators. With 16 million customers, some ministers may believe Thames is too big to fail. River Action says it’s too big to be allowed to keep failing. It’s time to put customers and the environment before private profits – by putting Thames Water out of its misery and into a special administration regime. 

 

References

  • Becky Malby, Kate Bayliss, Frances Cleaver, Ewan McGaughey, “A fair price to the public for water nationalisation.” The Guardian. 3 August 2025. Accessed here.
  • Defra, “Nationalising the water sector: how we assessed the cost.” Policy Paper, 16 September 2025, accessed here.
  • The Social Market Foundation, “The cost of nationalising the water industry in England.” February 2018. Accessed here.
  • Dieter Helm, “The next episode in the Thames Water saga: Defra’s misleading £100 billion cost of nationalisation and flawed board vetting proposals”. 22 September 2025, accessed here.
  • Ewan McGaughey, “How to Clean Up Our Water: Why Public Ownership in Law Costs Zero”. Common Wealth, 5 June 2025, accessed here.
  • Kate Bayliss, Frances Cleaver, Becky Malby, “Defra and the £100bn”. The People’s Commission, 18 September 2025, accessed here.
  • Karol Yearwood, “The Privatised Water Industry in the UK. An ATM for investors.” University of Greenwich, September 2018, accessed here.
  • Tainted Water, “Where Your Money Goes”, Goldsmiths, University of London, 2024, accessed here.
  • Sandra Laville, Anna Leach, & Carmen Aguilar García, “In charts: how privatisation drained Thames Water’s coffers”, The Guardian, 30 June 2023, accessed here.
  • Sandra Laville, “Thames Water fails to complete 108 upgrades to ageing sewage works”, The Guardian, 10 July 2024, accessed here.
  • Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, “Reforming the Water Sector”, House of Commons, 9 September 2025, accessed here.
  • Eleanor Shearer & Ewan McGaughey, “Deep Trouble: Fixing Our Broken Water System”, Common Wealth, 11 July 2024, accessed here.
  • Sarah Olney MP, “Thames Water: Contingency Plans”, House of Commons, 15 March 2024, accessed here.
  • Alex Lawson, “The fate of Thames Water hangs in the balance. So what are its options?”. The Guardian, 22 March, 2024, accessed here.
  • River Action, “River Action launches legal challenge against the Government over Thames Water failures”, 30 July 2025, accessed here.

The Water Commission’s Final Report: Why It Falls Short – And What Must Come Next

Posted on by Molly Allen
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By Amy Fairman, Head of Campaigns

At the end of July, the Independent Water Commission released it’s final report on the state of our water industry with recommendations on how the industry could be fixed. River Action, alongside Surfers Against Sewage, has analysed the recommendations against our five core principles for real reform.

Our conclusion? While the Commission makes some useful noises about reform, it ultimately ducks the bold changes needed to end sewage pollution and protect people and nature.

Here’s how the Commission performed when measured against our principles – and why government must now go much further with its upcoming White Paper.

1. Operating for Public Benefit

The Commission’s approach accepts the profit-driven privatised model of water companies as a given. Instead of rethinking this broken system, it focuses primarily on tighter regulation.

This is not enough. Decades of evidence show that shareholder-first models drain money out of the system while rivers fill with sewage. The Commission ignored credible international evidence that public benefit ownership models – like those in much of Europe – deliver lower bills, more investment, and cleaner rivers.

Without a fundamental redesign of ownership, governance, and financing, alongside regulatory reform the crisis will continue.

2. Democratic Decision-Making

The Commission’s proposal for Regional Water Authorities is a step forward, hinting at more democratic oversight. But as drafted, these bodies risk being toothless talking shops.

Real reform requires municipal-level oversight, with local authorities, communities, and environmental groups holding real power over how water companies invest, operate, and deliver. Without this, decisions will remain in the hands of profit-driven boards.

3. Protecting Public and Environmental Health

The Commission acknowledges sewage pollution is a major public health crisis – but stops short of the urgent action needed.

Taskforces and reviews won’t protect the thousands of people falling ill after using polluted rivers and seas. We need immediate legal duties for all water companies, regulators, and government to protect public and environmental health, backed by stronger permits and updated Bathing Water Regulations that safeguard everyone, year-round, from emerging pollutants like ‘forever chemicals’ and microplastics.

4. Tough, Independent Regulators 

The Commission rightly diagnoses regulatory failure. But renaming regulators without changing their powers, duties, and resources will not fix the problem.

We need a strong, independent regulator with a clear duty to protect public and environmental health – not water company profits. And where companies fail, government must use the Special Administration Regime to reset them around public benefit principles, starting with Thames Water.

5. Transparency

The Commission calls for more monitoring – which we welcome – but still clings to the discredited model of operator self-monitoring, where water companies mark their own homework.

That system has failed. Independent monitoring, citizen science, and full real-time transparency are the only way forward. People deserve to know what’s happening in their rivers and seas.

The Bottom Line

The Water Commission’s report was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reset a failing system. Instead, it tinkers at the edges, leaving the profit-driven model intact and communities exposed to sewage, debt, and declining water quality.

Government must now go further. The upcoming White Paper must:

  • Restructure water companies to deliver public benefit, not private profit.
  • Embed democratic oversight at local and regional levels.
  • Put public and environmental health at the heart of water law and regulation.
  • Create a tough, well-funded regulator with the power to act.
  • End operator self-monitoring and deliver full transparency.

Anything less will leave us trapped in the cycle of pollution, public anger, and political failure.

You can read our full indepth analysis HERE.

River Action granted permission to proceed with legal challenge against Ofwat 

Posted on by Molly Allen
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Ofwat has forced customers to pay twice for water industry failures – and we are calling for urgent regulatory reform

We are taking water regulator Ofwat to a full court hearing, to challenge the approach Ofwat took when it set the price that water companies like United Utilities can charge their customers.

Ofwat’s approach was unlawful and, as a result of regulatory failings, the financial burden of water industry infrastructure neglect has been pushed onto customers – rather than those responsible.

The case is proceeding amid intensified calls for an overhaul of Ofwat, with growing scrutiny from the Independent Water Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, into whether the regulator is fit for purpose. We are calling for a reform of the regulator and, in particular, for Ofwat to stop water companies passing the costs of failures on to the public.

Water bill hikes – with no guarantees for the future

At the heart of the case is Ofwat’s 2024 Price Review (PR24), which approved above-inflation water bill increases, including an average annual rise of £123 per household, without guaranteeing the money will be spent on new infrastructure rather than plugging the gaps left by decades of underinvestment.

The legal challenge follows investigations by campaigners Matt Staniek and Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP), which exposed chronic sewage pollution in the Lake Windermere area and regulatory failings around PR24.

While the claim focuses on the PR24 determination for United Utilities in relation to water works in and around Lake Windermere, River Action thinks it exposes fundamental failures in Ofwat’s approach – with national implications.

Lake Windmere, Algea blooms | Matt Staniek ©

Customers are being forced to pay twice

The regulator’s decision allows water companies, such as United Utilities, to charge customers twice: first for water bills that should have covered infrastructure maintenance and then again through new hikes aimed at fixing the same problems.

In August 2024, United Utilities was granted “enhanced funding” to upgrade sewage treatment works around Windermere. This approval came despite evidence submitted to Ofwat showing over 6,000 hours of raw sewage discharges in the lake in a single year. Ofwat ignored this data in favour of hydraulic simulation modelling, which fails to reflect on-the-ground conditions.

Legal grounds: flawed modelling, weak enforcement

Permission has been granted for all of our three grounds. Represented by law firm Leigh Day, we will argue that:

  • Ground 1: Ofwat approach to its own “not paying twice” policy was unlawful because it relied on theoretical hydraulic simulation modelling instead of the reality on the ground as seen in evidence provided to Ofwat.
  • Ground 2: Ofwat lacks a meaningful clawback mechanism if water companies misuse funds.
  • Ground 3: Ofwat failed to conduct legally adequate investigations into whether its approach is adequate.

A broken system that needs reform

River Action’s Head of Legal Emma Dearnaley said,

Ricardo Gama, partner at Leigh Day, added:

Toxic sludge scandal: The hidden threat lurking in our fields

Posted on by Molly Allen
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By Amy Fairman, Head of Campaigns, River Action

Across the UK, millions of tonnes of toxic sewage sludge is being dumped on our farmland every year. Marketed as “fertiliser,” this hazardous waste produced by water companies can contain a cocktail of microplastics, heavy metals, and dangerous “forever chemicals” that persist in the environment and accumulate over time. Shockingly, around 90% of this sewage sludge is ending up on the land that grows our food, leaching pollution into our soils and rivers.

This isn’t just a failure of transparency, it’s a ticking environmental time bomb that could even lead to soils becoming unable to support crop growth.

Thanks to our legal challenge against the Environment Agency, the Government is finally under pressure to confront this scandal head-on. And behind the scenes, water companies are panicking. A recent investigation by Unearthed has exposed their growing fears: if new regulations come into force to stop this reckless sludge spreading, they’ll be left with millions of tonnes of waste without a home.

And their plan? To make you, the public, pay for the clean-up. Again.

A broken system

Sewage sludge is the solid material left behind after wastewater is treated. It’s a necessary part of managing sewage. However, this sludge is not harmless compost. It’s laced with toxic pollutants, including PFAS (forever chemicals linked to cancer and infertility), microplastics, and heavy metals that poison the land and waterways. Yet water companies have been quietly offloading this waste onto UK farmland for decades, with little accountability and woefully inadequate oversight.

What’s worse, the water industry has not been upfront about what this sludge contains. Farmers have unknowingly spread this material across their fields, and regulators have turned a blind eye. Shockingly, the Environment Agency has axed its pledge to test sewage sludge for microplastics and ‘forever chemicals’ – an issue exposed recently by Fighting Dirty in its legal challenge.

But now the pressure is mounting for the Government to step up.

River Action’s legal push for change

Last year, we launched a legal challenge against the Environment Agency and the Government for failing to enforce the rules on sewage sludge spreading. Our case argued that the authorities were breaching their legal duties to protect human health and the environment by allowing excessive muck spreading that exceeds the immediate soil and crop nutrient needs, leading to nutrient runoff into waterways.

The result? The Government is now reviewing its enforcement guidance, a crucial step toward stopping the spread of toxic waste on our land and rivers. This could force water companies to find safer, cleaner ways to manage their sludge. But there’s a catch: if that happens, they’re already warning they’ll ask Ofwat for an emergency rise in water bills to cover the cost.

Let’s be clear: the public should not foot the bill for the water industry’s environmental negligence. We’ve already paid the price through polluted rivers, poisoned soil, and mounting ecological damage. The companies responsible must be made to clean up their own mess.

Sewage outflow into the River Thames © Getty Image

Time to act

This is a defining moment. For too long, the water industry has prioritised profit over public health and environmental protection. That must end.

Together with Greenpeace, we are calling on the new Secretary of State for Environment, Steve Reed, to take urgent action:

  • Stop the spreading of toxic sewage sludge on farmland
  • Make water companies pay the full cost of disposing of this waste safely
  • Introduce proper regulation and legal limits on the content of sludge used in agriculture

Sign the petition today and demand the Government puts an end to this toxic scandal. Let’s hold water companies accountable and ensure our land, rivers, and future are protected from pollution.

[SIGN THE PETITION]

Thames Water is Gaslighting the Public – Here’s the Truth

Posted on by Molly Allen
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By Henry Shepherd, Community Campaigns Coordinator, River Action

 

Twisting and turning more than the Thames itself

As the boat race weekend approaches, Thames Water has gone on the offensive – not to clean up the Thames, but to spin the facts and put the public at risk.

Yesterday, we revealed that our 40+ water tests along the Boat Race course over the past month show the Thames would be classified as ‘poor water quality’ according to the Environment Agency regulations, with 29.5% of our samples exceeding safe limits for entering the water. This is despite it being the driest March in over 100 years….if they can’t keep the river clean in these conditions, how can they be trusted?

In a response statement, Thames Water attempted to cite ‘excellent’ water quality results, referencing data from a boat club in Hammersmith.

But here’s what they didn’t tell you.

That testing wasn’t done with Thames Water. The testing was carried out by our friends at Fulham Reach Boat Club and was actually funded by River Action. Thames Water conveniently cherry-picked a subset of this data, and, unbeknownst to them, we funded it!

Additionally, the data they selected came from a single weekly test at only one point along the course (4 tests in total). In contrast, our data, revealed yesterday, consisted of over 40 tests across the entire length of the Boat Race course from 10th March.

In short: Thames Water carefully curated the one stat that suited their PR and presented distorted information, putting public health at risk.

Thames Water simply cannot be trusted to tell the truth about basic water quality risks, and have once again willingly put river users’ health at risk, prioritising misleading headlines rather than fixing pipes.

The 2025 boat race course with River Action test sites

The Kew cover-up 

It gets worse.

On Tuesday, we were alerted to the possibility of a burst sewage pipe near Kew Bridge, with sewage reportedly spilling directly into the river just upstream of the Boat Race finish line.

We immediately called Thames Water’s pollution hotline to enquire about the issue, but were assured there were no problems to report. However, after investigating the site ourselves, we found Thames Water vans and huge sewage tankers stationed on the riverbank at Kew Bridge. After speaking with the crew, they confirmed the incident. At that time, it appeared that sewage was simply entering the river, just a mile upstream of the Boat Race finish line.

Thames Water’s initial denial of the problem highlights their true priorities: managing headlines, not public health. How much sewage has been allowed to flow into the river without the public being informed?

This issue is compounded by a separate sewage pipe even closer to the Boat Race finish line, downstream at Kew Transfer. The monitoring system for that pipe had been offline since January 19th, mysteriously coming back online the day we published our testing results (how convenient?) This means that no one knows how much sewage has been flowing into the river unchecked from that sewage overflow.

When people, including hundreds of junior rowers, and professional boat race crews, rely on this critical information to stay safe, it’s not just unacceptable – it’s dangerous.

Thames Water vans and sewage tankers near Kew Bridge on Tuesday

A failure of infrastructure, regulation, and honesty

With almost no rain recently, this pollution isn’t just a result of outdated infrastructure and unmonitored storm overflows. It reveals a much deeper issue: that even after treatment, final discharged waste water from sewage works is still far from safe. Treated effluent has no legal limit on E. Coli levels, so it frequently contains high levels of dangerous contaminants, including fecal matter and bacteria. The treatment process used by Thames Water, though permitted, falls far short of the standards needed to protect public health and the environment.

The real issue lies in the regulatory framework – unless a waterway has “bathing water status,” is home to a fish farm, or serves as a place of abstraction, there are no legal obligations to ensure that treated sewage is free from harmful substances. That’s why we’re campaigning for sewage treatment plants to be upgraded, better water quality monitoring, and enforceable limits on water quality – something that bathing water status would require.

But even with this, the Tideway Tunnel – which Thames Water touts as the solution – won’t protect us. The Tunnel is designed to manage storm overflows, not the continuous discharge of untreated or poorly treated sewage. It’s a temporary fix for a much deeper, systemic problem, and only reduces downstream pollution, which for half of the Boat Race course is irrelevant. The other half of the course – upstream of Hammersmith – is exposed to all the sewage pollution flowing along the Thames accumulated from the upstream catchment.

It is no surprise that all our tests taken upstream of the Tideway Tunnel show high levels of E.coli. This is the end of the Boat Race course and why we implore the Oxford and Cambridge teams not to throw their cox in the water. It is not safe.

Time for accountability

This isn’t just about rowing. This is about whether people can trust water companies to keep them safe. Thames Water has failed across the board:

  • They haven’t invested in modern monitoring systems.
  • They’ve lobbied for billions in bailouts while paying bonuses to executives.
  • They’ve allowed infrastructure to rot – and lied about it when questioned.

We believe Thames Water has forfeited its social licence to operate. It’s time to put the company into Special Administration, restructure it in the public interest, and end the cycle of pollution-for-profit.

River Action will continue exposing Thames Water’s spin  – not just this week, but every time they attempt to dodge accountability. This is your river, not theirs.

Sewage Spill Duration Hits Record High in 2024

Posted on by Molly Allen
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2024 Sewage Scandal: New Data, Same Dirty Rivers

The Environment Agency (EA) has released its latest Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) data, revealing that sewage spills in 2024 remain alarmingly high. Despite some claims of progress, the figures show that little has changed – with sewage pollution still devastating Britain’s rivers, lakes, and coastlines.

Sewage Crisis by the Numbers

The latest data highlights:

  • Total spill duration hit record high – Sewage spilled into waterways for 3.6 million hours
  • Slight drop in average spills per overflow – While the number of spills per overflow have fallen slightly, there have been a shocking 450,000 spills which is 50% higher than 2022
  • Highest number of monitored overflows – With more EDM devices commissioned, the scale of the problem is becoming clearer.

Same Scandal, Another Year

River Action’s CEO, James Wallace condemned the figures, calling them further proof of a broken and corrupt water industry:

“We sound like a broken record—but that’s because nothing has changed. The water industry is still broken. A year on from last year’s catastrophic pollution figures, the true scale of the UK’s water crisis is only now coming to light, thanks to increased real-time monitoring. The numbers are staggering: 3.6 million hours of sewage spills from 450 thousand discharges. That’s equivalent to 412 continuous years of sewage polluting our rivers, lakes and seas”

He specifically called out Thames Water, the country’s largest water company, which discharged raw sewage for a shocking 298,081 hours with a 51% increase in sewage spills hours since 2023.

“Yet, despite this environmental catastrophe, they’ve been given the green light to saddle a company on the brink of collapse with an additional £3 billion in debt.”

Unmonitored Failings and Toxic Effluent

The CEO also warned that the true scale of the problem is even worse, as much of the industry’s pollution goes unreported:

“About 30% of Thames Water’s infrastructure is unmapped, meaning vast sections remain a mystery to both the company and regulators. On top of this, most sewage treatment permits don’t require the removal of dangerous pathogens, meaning even ‘treated’ effluent still poses a huge threat to public health and wildlife.”

The Public Pays the Price

Despite the ongoing sewage scandal, regulators have signed off on massive bill increases for customers, forcing them to pay for the industry’s failings.

“Instead of tackling this scandal, the water regulator has signed off massive bill increases for the public, while water company bosses continue to pocket obscene salaries and investors reap profits while costly debts soar. A third of my water bill services junk debt. It’s madness.”

River Action Calls for Special Administration and Reform

River Action is calling on the Government to place Thames Water into special administration to prevent further financial and environmental damage. The Water Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, must also deliver a radical new model for the industry—one that prioritises people and the planet over profit.

“Rather than fixing leaky pipes and investing in infrastructure, these companies have treated our rivers and coastlines like an open sewer—and regulators have let them get away with it. The Water Commission must put an end to this failed privatisation experiment and force real reform of the industry and regulators. We need to learn from our European neighbours, and use finance and governance models that put people and nature before investors.”

Enough Excuses—It’s Time for Action

The latest sewage spills data proves that the water industry continues to fail the public and the environment. With the Water Commission’s recommendations looming, the UK stands at a crossroads:

Will we continue to tolerate pollution-for-profit, or

Will we demand a fair, public-first water system that protects our rivers and coastlines?

The public deserves more than excuses—it’s time for genuine reform.

South Coast Residents Demand Action Against Sewage Pollution in “largest peaceful protest seen in BCP”

Posted on by Molly Allen
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Local Residents Gather to Demand Action Against Sewage Pollution in Christchurch Harbour

On Tuesday, 25th March, over 150 concerned residents gathered outside Bournemouth, Poole, and Christchurch (BPC) Civic Centre, demanding an end to the devastating sewage pollution choking Christchurch Harbour. The crowd called for the immediate implementation of a new Harbour Protection Policy to safeguard the area’s fragile ecosystem

The demonstration followed the submission of a powerful petition signed by over 4,400 Christchurch residents, which forced BCP Council to debate the proposal. Councillor Vanessa Ricketts, also Secretary of the Christchurch Harbour & Marine Society, presented the policy at the council meeting. She stressed the need for robust mitigation measures to prevent pollution from new developments from further harming the harbour’s unique species and ecological habitats.

Ricketts highlighted the success of a similar policy in Poole Harbour, urging the council to adopt the same protections to “prevent the demise of this beautiful, natural estuary.” The council responded decisively, unanimously supporting the petition—a significant victory for the community.

Ricketts celebrated the result, stating:

“It was amazing to have the unanimous support of the council and for them to recognise the urgent need to protect Christchurch Harbour.”

Christchurch Harbour: A Natural Treasure Under Threat

Christchurch Harbour, designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), is an essential ecological hotspot. It connects to the River Avon Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and plays a vital role in the life cycles of several endangered fish species, including:

  • Sea Lamprey (critically endangered)

  • Atlantic Salmon

  • European Eel

The harbour also serves as a breeding and nursery ground for species such as sea bass and mullet and provides key habitats for migratory water birds.

However, despite its environmental significance, the harbour is under relentless assault from sewage pollution. In 2023 alone, Wessex Water discharged:

  • 32,577 hours of untreated sewage into the River Avon

  • 9,634 hours into the River Stour

These figures more than doubled compared to the previous year. The 2024 Environment Agency data, expected later this month, is likely to reveal even more alarming levels of pollution. Combined with agricultural run-off from the river catchments, the harbour’s water quality has rapidly deteriorated, triggering frequent algal blooms that deplete oxygen levels and suffocate wildlife.

Ricketts added:

“Thank you to everyone for your support in helping to make our rivers and harbour safe, clean, and thriving spaces for conservation, recreation, and natural beauty.”

Protest with a Splash: Community Creativity and Politeness

The demonstration was described by councillors as the “politest protest” they had ever witnessed. Protesters creatively incorporated “please” into their chants, while many turned up in water sports attire, donning wetsuits, snorkels, and Dry Robes. Residents also brought handmade banners and signs, sending a powerful yet courteous message to the council.

Experts Sound the Alarm

Charles Watson, Founder and Chair of River Action, voiced strong concerns over the ongoing sewage crisis:

“In recent years, Christchurch Harbour has become the toilet bowl of Bournemouth. Huge quantities of raw sewage are regularly discharged into the River Stour from the wastewater treatment works serving the Bournemouth area. When combined with even greater discharges from the Avon, the harbour at times resembles a literal cesspit. Urgent action is needed to protect this incredibly important area of biodiversity.”

Martin Stewart, Chair of the Christchurch Harbour & Marine Society, echoed these sentiments:

“Christchurch Harbour is a vital habitat for endangered species like Atlantic Salmon, Sea Lamprey, and European Eel. It’s also a major hub for leisure activities such as angling, sailing, kayaking, paddleboarding, wild swimming, and birdwatching. The horrendous pollution levels we’re witnessing now pose a massive threat to both nature and human health. BCP Council must urgently step up to protect this long-suffering ecosystem.”

Community Action: The Time Is Now

The resounding message from the protest is clear: the community will no longer tolerate inaction. With sewage pollution threatening both nature and public health, residents have made their voices heard. The unanimous support for the Harbour Protection Policy is a significant step, but the fight is far from over.

The people of Christchurch have spoken—and they demand clean waters, not excuses.

 

 

Court of Appeal upholds Thames Water’s £3 billion rescue plan – “This decision is a disaster for Thames Water bill payers and the environment”

Posted on by Molly Allen
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WHAT HAPPENED?

The Court of Appeal has decided to uphold Thames Water’s £3 billion rescue plan. This is a devastating blow to both the River Thames and its millions of customers. Instead of prioritising urgent investment in tackling pollution and infrastructure failures, this bailout will see a third of bill increases swallowed by massive interest payments, as highlighted by River Action’s CEO, James Wallace:

“Customers will now have to pay the price for the failing water company with about a third of their increased water bills paying for massive interest payments while our rivers remain choked with sewage”

WHY WAS THIS RULING IMPORTANT?

Sewage continues to pour into our rivers, and Thames Water customers are left footing the bill for a broken, profit-driven system that has failed to deliver the basic services they pay for. This ruling effectively rewards financial mismanagement while leaving our waterways in crisis.

“This is not just about managing a crisis; it’s about fixing a broken system that has allowed private companies to profit at the expense of public well-being.”

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

River Action believes the Government must immediately place Thames Water into Special Administration to prevent further financial and environmental harm. Instead of propping up an unsustainable model, the independent Water Commission must propose a governance and financial framework that puts people and the environment first. This is not just about rescuing a single company, it’s about ending a system that has allowed private firms to profit while rivers die and communities suffer.

“Maintaining the status quo will only perpetuate this corporate takeover of the lifeblood of our economy and land. The government can and should step in now”

Up to their necks in it: River Action unveils provocative ‘Pooster’ to expose water companies profiting while poisoning our water

Posted on by lewis
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhRYklit9xE

Revealed: A new billboard made of £50 notes, stained brown with sewage  waste, symbolises the dirty profits of water companies, while separately exposing that Thames Water has dumped sewage into the Thames for 7,002 hours since January 2024.

Today, River Action, organising the November 3rd March for Clean Water, is launching a bold new advertising billboard in central London that highlights the shocking reality of water companies making billions while polluting the UK’s rivers, lakes, and seas.

Dubbed the ‘Pooster,’ the 48 sheet (3m high x 6m wide) billboard, is constructed from fake £50 notes, stained brown with sterilised manure and mixed with water from polluted beaches, rivers and streams across the UK, symbolising the dirtied profits that water companies continue to make at the expense of our environment. The ‘Pooster’ displays a bold caption: “This money is stained with crap, just like water company profits’.

This striking visual dirty protest comes as part of River Action’s wider campaign against water pollution and will be officially launched with a crowd of wild swimmers fed up with dirty money making water dirty at 10am on Monday 21 October ahead of the March for Clean Water, set to take place in central London on November 3rd. The billboard displayed at the junction of Harleyford Road and South Lambeth Road close to Vauxhall Station is a high-traffic area of central London to draw maximum attention to the issue.

The ‘Pooster’ exposes the uncomfortable truth: despite dividend payouts to shareholders totalling £72.9 billion over the last 33 years and excessive levels of executive pay and bonuses, water companies across the UK are failing to protect our waterways.

River Action reveals extent of Thames Water discharges

Today River Action can reveal that since January 1 2024, Thames Water, the ‘pooster’ child of the nation’s broken water and sewage system, alone has discharged at least 7,002 hours of untreated human sewage into the River Thames, equal to 291 days. A large number of these discharges are believed to have been unlawful. The shocking findings from River Action’s research come at a time when Thames Water is facing financial collapse having paid out billions to shareholders and unknown amounts of interest on its escalating debts since privatisation – at the expense of future-proofing its crumbling infrastructure.

Meanwhile, as river users and wildlife suffer the consequences of poisoned water, Thames Water has continued to award failure with CEO compensation packages reaching up to £1.71 million last year alone.

“Up to their necks in it” –  River Action’s campaigns manager Amy Fairman  

Head of Campaigns at River Action Amy Fairman said, “Water companies like Thames Water are up to their necks in it, treating our rivers, seas and lakes like open sewers. Meanwhile they squander bill payers cash with impunity, splashing it on shareholder dividends, bonuses for their bosses and paying huge levels of interest on their junk-rated  debt.

“Our ‘Pooster’ drives home the point: the financial gains they make are filthy money. It’s time for change. The UK public is fed up with sewage-drenched waterways and our campaign demands urgent reform.”

Laura Reineke from the Henley Mermaids is attending the Pooster launch with her fellow wild swimmers, in bathing costumes and hats.  She said, “Our beautiful river Thames is being used as an open sewer, the epically mismanaged monopoly that is Thames Water is in charge of our precious blue space.  This has to change! We are fed up with swimming in poo. Freshwater species are declining at a rate of five times that of species that live on land, our biodiversity needs rescuing. Our river is visibly poorly, choking in chemical’s and suffocating in poo. This assault on our wildlife and our health has to stop, water should be run for the benefit of humans and the wildlife that calls it home.”

March for Clean Water, Sunday 3rd November

With public outrage at an all-time high, River Action’s billboard exposes the urgent need for reform in the water industry.

The campaign builds momentum ahead of the March for Clean Water, where thousands of people, alongside more than 100 organisations as diverse as the Women’s Institute, Extinction Rebellion and the National Trust, will demand action from the government against water polluters. Marchers are encouraged to wear blue, symbolising their fight for clean water.

River Action and a coalition of 100s of campaign groups want to see the robust enforcement of existing environmental laws with hefty fines for illegal pollution, the end of pollution for profit with no more excessive shareholder dividends and executive pay and the resourcing   and reforming the environmental regulators so they can do their job, putting public benefit before facilitating private greed.

Download a hi-res ‘Pooster’ image here.

ENDS

Notes to editor
Global, Media & Entertainment Group provided the billboard space and creative agency Uncharted developed the creative concept.

For safety reasons, unlike the carelessness of the water companies, the ‘Pooster’ was made using sterilised waste diluted with water collected from rivers, beaches, and streams across the UK.

The source for the figure of 7,002 hours of discharges by Thames Water (taken from Faringdon in Oxfordshire to Dartford in Kent) so far in 2024 was calculated on 15/10/2024 using this: https://www.sewagemap.co.uk/ 

The source for the £72.9 billion in dividends is here: https://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/47165/ 

The source for the figure on CEO compensation at Thames Water is here: https://www.thameswater.co.uk/media-library/home/about-us/investors/our-results/2024-reports/thames-water-annual-report-2023-24.pdf 

River Action is an environmental charity on a mission to rescue Britain’s rivers from the deluge of pollution that has left the majority of our waterways in a severely degraded ecological condition. Our campaigns to date have focussed on tackling the severe environmental crises created by both sewage and agricultural pollution.

The March for Clean Water will be a legal, peaceful, family-friendly and inclusive demonstration. On Sunday 3rd November, we will muster at Albert Embankment from 1100, and start marching at 1145. The rally will start in Parliament Square at 1330 and is due to finish by 1500.

To date, more than 100 organisations have pledged their support for the march including the National Trust, Women’s Institute, RSPB, Wildlife Trusts, Extinction Rebellion, Greenpeace, Angling Trust, Wildfish, British Rowing, Good Law Project, Clean Ilkley River Group, Activist Anglers, Save the Wye Coalition and Henley Mermaids.

Vile amounts of human sewage detected at popular rowing site on the Thames. British Rowing and River Action warn river users to take extreme caution

Posted on by lewis
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Sewage pollution filmed in the Thames at Putney (03/05/24).

British Rowing and River Action warn that vile amounts of human sewage has been discharged by Thames Water along the Putney Embankment, home to over ten rowing clubs on the River Thames.

This follows news that the organisers of the Boulter’s to Bray Swim in Maidenhead have cancelled this year’s community event over concerns about the water cleanliness. And days after water-based sports across the UK united to call on the government to act to address pollution in rivers, lakes and coastal waters.

Thames RC captain Huw Jones said: “The frequency and severity of sewage discharges into the tidal Thames is increasing. On Thursday this week the visible signs of raw sewage on Putney Embankment led the club to cancel rowing sessions to safeguard athlete health. This situation is unacceptable, and we call on Thames Water to take immediate action.”

CEO of British Rowing Alastair Marks said, “We are gravely concerned about the state of the Thames and the effect this pollution is having on our rowers and their safety. Over the last few days, we’ve had reports of sessions cancelled due to concerns over water quality and countless photographs of the obvious pollution. We urge our community to take care of their health first and foremost and to continue following our guidance for rowing when the water quality is poor.”

CEO of River Action James Wallace said, “The shocking reality is that it is simply not safe to swim in rivers like the Thames due to the huge levels of recent raw sewage discharges. Regular E.coli testing which River Action, and other citizen scientists, has carried in recent weeks show the pathogen levels at a multiple of what would be considered safe for bathing.

“We have also been approached now by dozens of river users who have become seriously ill after coming into contact with the river. It is also scandalous that there has been no public health advice on this issue from any government body – and it’s up to charitable organisations like River Action to test the river and keep the public safe.

“Where is the Environment Agency and the Department for Health? Why aren’t they holding the polluters to account and protecting people’s health? Frankly, the Thames should come with a health warning.”

Guidance on rowing when water quality is poor

Rowers spend a huge amount of their daily lives either on or by the water. British Rowing, River Action and The Rivers Trust have developed a set of guidelines for rowing on poor quality water. ‘Guidance on rowing when water quality is poor’ has been written to minimise the risk of contracting illness due to proximity to polluted water. 

Included are helpful tips on the importance of covering cuts, grazes, and blisters with waterproof dressings, taking care not to swallow river water that splashes close to the mouth, wearing suitable footwear when launching or recovering a boat, and cleaning all equipment thoroughly.

ENDS

For interviews call Ian at River Action on 07377 547 362 and Lily Fraser at British Rowing on 07540 722442

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