Extinction Rebellion Winchester highlight water pollution with blue plaques
Local protesters against the dumping of sewage and farming runoff into the River Itchen [1] have installed satirical blue plaques in Winchester to highlight the shocking state of our waterways.
Members of Extinction Rebellion Winchester unveiled blue plaques in across Winchester as part of a national action across the UK.
The plaques highlight the government’s continued failure to tighten environmental regulations and stop profit-grabbing by water companies. The plaques read: “Steve Brine, Winchester MP, voted to block a law requiring water companies to dump less raw sewage in our waterways and seas on 20th October 2021”.
A spokesperson for XR Winchester says: “We’ve watched in horror as our rivers and seas have become open sewers since October 2021, when our own MP Steve Brine, voted down a proposal to stop water companies pumping waste directly into our rivers. The Conservative government justified this by claiming that the proposal was too expensive. These plaques shine a light on the government’s failure to protect our waterways, the natural world, and all of us.”
The government’s failure to properly tackle the issue of sewage pollution has been hugely controversial. Last summer over a hundred beaches were closed to the public after a series of sewage discharges by water companies left the sand and sea contaminated with human sewage. [2]
Meanwhile, only 14% of the UK’s rivers achieve “good” ecological status with pollution from agriculture, human sewage, roads, and single-used plastics creating a dangerous “chemical cocktail” in our waterways. [3] In December the Environment Agency announced it was pushing back targets to clean up England’s rivers, lakes and coastal waters from 2027 to 2063, prompting outcry. [4]
This is just the first part of a bigger campaign to protect nature and our waterways. You can join in by visiting XR Winchester or signing up at https://actionnetwork.org/forms/dirty-water