Clean river campaigners join forces
Groups from across the UK step up their action with a call for government action on failing water companies
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Campaigners at Save Our Swale (SOS) and Stop Ure Pollution (SUP) have joined forces with similar groups across the country in a bid to force government action on water companies.
The move follows the recent gathering of many of the groups at a conference organised by Ilkley Clear Water where activists pushed for action to put failing water companies into ‘special measures’.
The special measures legal status would mean that government officials could go into the water company and be able to scrutinise the finances and operations.
A spokesperson for SOS said “SOS will support this initiative as it’s one of the few measures currently available to hold water companies to account. But this is only the beginning of how to transform water companies into an industry which prioritises healthy water for communities over profits for investors.”
SUP chairman Richard Loukota said: “SUP are keen to work with all stakeholders including the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust, Yorkshire Water, Yorkshire Dales National Parks, the farming community, fishing clubs, wild swimmers and any other groups to bring about a clean safe river for all including the life that lives in, on or around the river.
“We are aware that there are several other potential causes of pollution in the River Ure and indeed as well as the well recognised bacterial and inorganic pollutants, there are also chemical/drug and microplastic pollutants that will need addressing.”
The two North Yorkshire groups are joining with a long list of local river groups to make the call to the government including Ilkley Clean River Group, Save Windermere, SOS Whitstable and Windrush Against Sewage.
The Sewage Campaign Network can be contacted here.
Local MPs urged to support action
The groups are now contacting MPs across the country asking for support and have produced briefing notes and materials to help campaigners spell out what’s required.
They want to see four amendments to the Water (Special Measures) Bill they say will strengthen the bill to ensure customers and the environment are protected and address the weakness in regulation.
The amendments requested are to:
1. Put failing water companies into special administration
2. Stop public bailout of the water industry (the bill allows for public bailout).
3. Reform the duties of Ofwat to be for clean water, conservation and regional bills.
4. Put employees and bill payers on the Boards of water companies.
More river news
💦 A short report on the results of the water testing by Stop Ure Pollution volunteers will be presented by YDRT at the public meeting being held by SUP at Leyburn Methodist Church Hall at 6.30pm tonight (Tuesday, October 1).
💦 Yorkshire Water, Northumbrian Water and United Utilities are among six water companies which overcharged customers, a tribunal has heard. The overcharging of between £800m and £1.5bn happened by “significantly or systematically” underreporting the true scale of their sewage pollution of rivers and waterways, reports Sandra Laville at The Guardian.
💦 Around 70 crayfish from the internationally important River Wansbeck population in Northumberland – one of the last remaining strongholds of the species – have been found dead. The Environment Agency is investigating the deaths of endangered native white clawed crayfish, more details here.
💦 Plans to create a ‘floating ecosystem’ in the River Ouse have been given the go-ahead with a requirement to keep it litter-free. A 16.45m by 2.34m pontoon-like structure is to be installed with native aquatic plants helping create a thriving habitat for wildlife and help improve water quality in the River Ouse, reports Joe Gerrard at York Press.
💦 Two separate Harrogate river pollution incidents remain a mystery reports Lauren Ryan at The Stray Ferret.
The three most clicked links from last week were:
In other news
⛏️ The UK marked a major milestone yesterday - the end of coal. In her post on Substack, Hannah Ritchie writes that “Coal has now died in its birthplace” noting that “it was a relatively quick energy transition by historical standards.”
🐄 Cows help farms capture more carbon in soil a study has shown. James Tapper reports at The Guardian on research by the Soil Association Exchange which shows that farms with a mixture of arable crops and livestock have about a third more carbon stored within their soil than those with only arable crops.
🌳 One year after the iconic Sycamore Gap tree was cut down, a pledge by artist Lucy Pittaway has seen more than 1,000 trees planted, Harry Booth writes at York Press.
🌳 If the Sycamore Gap tree touched you, then you’re very much not alone. This lovely photo essay from Christopher Owens captured people’s reactions at the site in Northumberland the day after the felling.
“It’s like cutting down the Tyne Bridge, it’s just as monumental.”
♨️ The South Bank area of Holbeck and Hunslet in Leeds is to enjoy more affordable and lower carbon heating after £24.5m funding was secured to further expand the Leeds PIPES district heating network. South Leeds Life has more.
👶 An 8.5 metre puppet of a giant baby called Lilly arrived in Rochdale - and locals say it left them ‘terrified’. The baby is a part of a campaign to raise awareness about nature safeguarding, ahead of the council’s ‘Wild Wanders’ event, a night-time nature trail through Hollingworth Country Park, reports Charlotte Hall at the MEN.
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