31 March 2023
Responding to new data from the Environment Agency which show that there was a total of 301,091 sewage discharges in 2022, Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said:
“It is nothing short of a national scandal that our rivers should be treated in this way. There is simply no excuse for raw sewage to be spilled into rivers 824 times a day – especially in a year when most of the country faced a drought.
“The situation we currently have across the country where water companies can, almost with impunity, dump sewage into our rivers, waterways and coastal waters cannot go on. The Green Party wants to see a halt to all dividend payouts to shareholders until these companies sort their sewage out and ultimately for the water supply to be brought back into public ownership at the earliest practicable opportunity.
“After years of failing to invest adequately in infrastructure, the private monopoly model is broken with rivers facing an assault from all directions, made all the worse by inaction from the government.
“The water industry cannot continue to be rewarded for failure.”
ENDS
For more information or to arrange an interview contact the press office on press@greenparty.org.uk or call 0203 691 9401
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