Just say NO!

The government's so-called 'consultation' into how long we will tolerate our water being polluted and made worse by failing governance closes tomorrow. That's not quite how they put it but that is the reality.

All across the country - sewage works are over capacity and failing but housing is added regardless - Wilful ignorance or plain stupidity? What happened to the Green Recovery and building back better?

Gross and chronic pollution is commonplace while the water industry makes a killing and pays its Chief Executives obscene bonuses.

Reality check - In May 2018 the Environment Agency issued guidance that told the water industry that it MUST classify it storm overflows and fix those that are unsatisfactory (many!), normally within 3 years. That was 4 years ago.

The industry has been ignoring it and the regulators have let them get away with it. Now, instead of cracking down on criminal pollution, our own government is trying to conceal failure, bin that hard target and allow failing systems to simply continue with some window dressing and 'world beating' bla bla to pacify the public. Don't fall for it.

Our government has not yet even responded, let alone reacted, to the damning report from the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee which found that river pollution was the consequence of failed governance and enforcement. It was required to respond withing 60 days and guess what? Over 120 days later it just keeps making promises and excuses.

Here is the link to the consultation. It doesn't take long. All you need to do, unless you think it is as great as Defra makes out, is reject it and keep it simple in the comments if you think it is daunting. Don't feel obliged to say any more than that you want clean water, not prevarication and pollution for profit. Or something even more pithy.

If you want a detailed explanation of why the government offering is inadequate, this is the link to an analysis by the Solicitor for the Salmon and Trout Condervation Trust.

We will be talking to Robert Courts soon to try to find out if he really does believe the demonstrably misleading nonsense being dumped on MPs for their constituents and repeated by him.

What happens next will set the scene for us and future generations. Here is the first of two videos made by some of our younger supporters when they couldn't accompany us to the Surfers Agaginst Sewage demo in London a couple of weeks ago.

We do not have to stand by and watch our waters being sacrificed to please big business interests.