Privatised water companies have "clearly failed" says MP

The beauty of the South Cotswolds owes much to our iconic rivers. Both the Bristol Avon and the River Thames start here in our constituency.

Two tributaries to the Avon rise at Didmarton and Tetbury before joining at Malmesbury.

The Thames rises near Kemble, flows through Cricklade, and is swollen by the River Coln at Fairford before heading for London where it flows past the Houses of Parliament en route to the sea.  

With this heritage, and with my background in campaigning on water issues, the health of our beautiful rivers and streams matters enormously to me.

Last weekend's Earthwatch Great UK WaterBlitz provided a timely opportunity to highlight the alarming state of our waterways and need for urgent action.

Local environmental groups and citizen scientists have been at the heart of this battle.

So, I went down to the river in Fairford with Amy, Vaughan and Owen to do my bit. 

The evidence of pollution is shocking. In 2023 alone, there were over 20,000 sewage discharges into the Coln, Avon and Thames Rivers, totalling more than 150,000 hours.

Raw sewage is being pumped into our rivers on a near-daily basis, turning them into open sewers dangerous to wildlife, pets and people alike. 

The impact on local ecosystems is devastating.

Once-thriving habitats for fish, insects and plant life have been choked by algal blooms caused by excess nutrients from sewage.

Populations of iconic species like otters and kingfishers are dwindling. The stench along some stretches makes riverside walks unbearable. 

It's not just wildlife suffering - human health is at risk too.

Increasing numbers of swimmers and paddlers are reporting illnesses after contact with river water. Local vets have seen a spike in dogs falling ill after swimming.

There are even concerns about livestock drinking from contaminated watercourses. 

The privatised water companies have clearly failed.

Rather than investing in much needed infrastructure to treat water before discharging it, they have paid out billions in dividends while pollution incidents have soared.

The Thames Water CEO's £1 million salary package is a slap in the face to bill-payers dealing with crumbling, leaky pipes and filthy rivers. 

That's why I was unsurprised that much of the discussion at the Liberal Democrats Brighton conference this week was focused on our plans to apply pressure to the Government to bring the water firms to account and call for them to be turned into public benefit companies.

We want to see their profits being reinvested into improving services and protecting the environment, rather than lining owners' pockets.

It would put the wider public and environmental interest at the heart of how our water is managed.

As your MP, I will continue fighting to clean up our rivers and hold water companies to account.

If you missed the WaterBlitz last weekend, fear not – you can still get involved in citizen science and other ways of working to save our local rivers through one of the organisations doing fantastic work in this space, like Earthwatch, Surfers Against Sewage (surfing ability not a prerequisite!), River Action, Windrush Against Sewage Pollution, and Malmesbury River Valleys Trust. 

Let’s take action, and demand change. Our precious waterways deserve nothing less.