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Panorama this evening

R

Richard Lomas

Senior Member
I am sure everybody who saw this program is as incensed as I am that the water companies are breaking the law without any apparent come back from the Environment Agency. Saying their are concerned and spending shed loads of money means nothing and is just a smokescreen.
Dumping untreated/poorly treated effluent is as I understand it only meant to happen during times of substantial rainfall and yet they are dumping when there is no rain, presumably just to save money by avoiding treatment.


What a complete joke the EA is as a regulator and why the heck should we be paying them money every year to fish increasingly polluted rivers.

I think all fishermen, wild water swimmers and indeed anybody who cares for the environment should lobby their MPs about this disgusting state of affairs.
Ultimately politicians will only act if they are given enough grief over this.

Resources as basic and fundamental as water should not really be in the hands of the private sector as making profits for directors and shareholders inevitably leads to corners being cut when regulators do not regulate.
 
I'm going to watch this on the iplayer. To be honest it's nothing that most anglers aren't already aware of - it's just unfortunate that as a group the anglers lobby is not yet influential enough to change the status quo. I believe that the interest in clean rivers for swimming and other sports such as canoeing and paddle boarding will provide, in conjunction with the angling lobby, enough leverage to bring the issues around river pollution permenantly into the mainstream media. Once this is achieved, and political capital is up for grabs, the MPs will be on board and some changes may be possible. Unfortunately, the fines handed out are already built into the water companies business model so are ineffective.
The only route out is new legislation - for that we need MPs on board. Another downside of Brexit is the UK is no longer following the European Water Framework Directive, which is really good at punishing pollution - happy water companies, industrial spils and farming run-off de-oxygenation events. It is a complex issue that needs a parliamentary champion - I hope one has the courage to accept the challenge.
 
Disgraceful. On every level.

Wanted to put my foot through the TV when the Environment Minister started talking about the EA as though they were some sort of remote, independent entity. The Dept. she works for controls the EA and the SOS for Defra (her boss) appoints the EA chairman. The buck stops with her Dept!

I wonder how many MPs have investments in pension companies, equity funds who hold shares in the Water Companies?
 
Philip Dunne is the man behind the private members bill
wwtonline.co.uk

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Monitoring is actually in-house nowadays!
 
It’s certainly a snowball scandal, hopefully it will continue to capture more and more people’s attention and then they will be forced to take action. Just keep talking about it, bore people to death with it.
The beeb have picked it up this morning;
apple.news

Water companies illegally dumping sewage in England and Wales' rivers — BBC News

Treatment works are allowed to release sewage into waterways after heavy rain to stop it backing up.
apple.news apple.news
 
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Clamp down on companies and individuals polluting the waterways of England!​

We want to Government to clamp down on companies and individuals polluting the waterways of England.
More details
It should be the case that polluters with no consent to discharge or those with consents who break those consents are heavily fined for damaging the environment, yet it appears to be the case that polluters are with impunity damaging the environment which we and a wealth of species of flora and fauna rely on.
It is the case that the impact of these polluters to date is negatively impacting many riverine species - some species have populations in the last throes collapse with that consequently impacting those further up the food chain.
We fear it will not be long before the present level of polluting affects our rivers to the point of them becoming species poor drainage ditches, not the biodiverse habitats they should be!

I have just put the above words together with a view to listing a petition. What does everyone think?
 
Damian Kimmins said:

​

​

Clamp down on companies and individuals polluting the waterways of England!​

We want to Government to clamp down on companies and individuals polluting the waterways of England.
More details
It should be the case that polluters with no consent to discharge or those with consents who break those consents are heavily fined for damaging the environment, yet it appears to be the case that polluters are with impunity damaging the environment which we and a wealth of species of flora and fauna rely on.
It is the case that the impact of these polluters to date is negatively impacting many riverine species - some species have populations in the last throes collapse with that consequently impacting those further up the food chain.
We fear it will not be long before the present level of polluting affects our rivers to the point of them becoming species poor drainage ditches, not the biodiverse habitats they should be!

I have just put the above words together with a view to listing a petition. What does everyone think?
Click to expand...

I'd alter that bit.
 
Damian Kimmins said:

​

​

Clamp down on companies and individuals polluting the waterways of England!​

We want to Government to clamp down on companies and individuals polluting the waterways of England.
More details
It should be the case that polluters with no consent to discharge or those with consents who break those consents are heavily fined for damaging the environment, yet it appears to be the case that polluters are with impunity damaging the environment which we and a wealth of species of flora and fauna rely on.
It is the case that the impact of these polluters to date is negatively impacting many riverine species - some species have populations in the last throes collapse with that consequently impacting those further up the food chain.
We fear it will not be long before the present level of polluting affects our rivers to the point of them becoming species poor drainage ditches, not the biodiverse habitats they should be!

I have just put the above words together with a view to listing a petition. What does everyone think?
Click to expand...
How about something like ... (I am attempting to be constructive)
Stop companies, farms, and individuals from polluting our waterways, and punish all those that do.
We demand that the Government both strengthen, and enforce, the laws, rules and regulations governing the discharge of waste into our river systems. At present water companies especially are knowingly discharging raw effluent, liquid, sludge and solids, untreated or minimally treated, directly into our rivers. This pollution is not only destroying the flora and fauna of our rivers, but also poses serious health hazards to the UK population - both those that use our rivers for recreational purposes (wild swimmers, canoeists, paddlers etc), and also to the population in general. This pollution is a severe threat to all those that use our rivers, and all the creatures that live in them. This pollution is also a threat to our food chain and domestic water supply.

At present, water companies are knowingly ignoring or circumventing regulations with impunity, and when fines have been levied they have been insignificant. Fines are woefully disproportionate to the damage that is being wilfully caused. The directors of these privately owned water companies are presently only being held accountable for the level of dividend paid to their investors, and not for the damage that they, and their companies, are causing.

Regulations must be strengthened, and enforced. Polluters must be held accountable
 
Well that's a wholesale rewording Terry, so stick that on there yourself if you wish! 🙂
 
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