People to paddle-out in protest against sewage pollution at Shrewsbury

The protests have been coordinated by Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), who are calling for an end to the sewage discharges plaguing the UK’s rivers and seas, as sewage overflows continue to have a devastating impact on ecological and human health.

In Shrewsbury, locals will be paddling out at Frankwell slipway on the River Severn at 10:30am.

Chloé Walker-Panse, Campaigner for the Shropshire Bathing Waters group: “On Saturday we'll be celebrating the newly designated bathing water site at Frankwell but also protesting to show all those accountable that we want solutions, not pollution". 

"We were delighted to receive the positive news on Monday that all three Shropshire sites we have applied for have been awarded bathing water status. Bathing designation means that all sites will undergo regular monitoring by the Environment Agency through the bathing season (15th May-30th September). This will give swimmers and other river users the confidence that the water is safe and help protect our precious environment.

Flagship protests are taking place at West Pier in Brighton and at Gyllyngvase Beach in Falmouth, with Olympian and keen paddle-boarder Dame Kelly Holmes set to join protesters on the south coast.

Giles Bristow, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage, said: “Once again, the public face a grim choice this summer - risk swallowing shit or forego a dip in the water.

“This year offers an opportunity to turn our collective anger into action and end the sewage scandal, with panicked politicians in listening mode, desperate to ride the waves of popular sentiment. A general election is imminent, and the public are out on the beach fronts and riverbanks making it clear that the issue of sewage pollution is at the top of the agenda. Ahead of the election, all parties need to show people genuine and quantifiable commitments to eliminate sewage pollution, or suffer the consequences.”

This year is a huge opportunity for action on sewage pollution. Water quality is predicted to be a core issue influencing voters in the next general election, which must happen before January 2025. Meanwhile, in June, regulator Ofwat - whose role is to challenge and scrutinise water companies to ensure they deliver safe and reliable water to people and protect the environment - will deliver recommendations on water companies’ investment plans for the next five years (2025 - 2030).

Water companies have proposed plans for £11 billion in investment for reducing sewage discharges for this period, with customer bills increasing in tandem – a move that has sparked outrage among the public, particularly in the context of the profits paid out to water company bosses and shareholders year on year. According to analysis by the Financial Times, water companies in England and Wales paid out £2.5bn in dividends in the two financial years since 2021 and a total of more than £78bn in dividends in the 33 years since privatisation.

Giles Bristow added: “Like those paddling-out at Shrewsbury, thousands are protesting on the water this weekend to let politicians, regulators and water companies know that the public aren’t going to let them wriggle out of demands for clean seas and rivers. We’re calling for plans that are ambitious enough to end sewage pollution in high-priority nature sites, and the waters we surf, swim and paddle in, by 2030, putting people and nature before profit. We won’t tolerate this broken system any longer.”

Double Gold medal-winning Olympian Dame Kelly Holmes, who will be paddling out with protesters in Brighton, said: “I love nothing more than getting out into the open water on my paddle-board - it does wonders for my mental health, and there's such a sense of community amongst those who use our wild waterways for sport and recreation.”

“But this incredibly special pastime has been tainted for all of us by the persistent risk of getting sick from pollution. The poor state of our rivers and seas is shocking and infuriating. Whole generations are being deprived of the right to safely enjoy the benefits that blue spaces offer. Our waterways are for us and should be here to enjoy as they are so important for our collective health and wellbeing. Events costing thousands are getting cancelled. To see our rivers and seas being treated so appallingly by those responsible for looking after them is nothing short of a national scandal.”

“I’m paddling out with Surfers Against Sewage and thousands of water-lovers across the country because I’m passionate about our waterways, I’m angry about what’s being done to them, and I want the polluters and those in power to hear our demands to end sewage pollution now.”

In 2023, there were 584,001 recorded discharges across England, Scotland and Wales - a 51% increase on the previous year - with sewage released into waterways for a total of 12,966,322 hours. Of the 11 water companies with monitoring in place, United Utilities was the worst offender, reporting 97,537 discharges in 2023.

Yorkshire Water and Severn Trent Water were hot on its heels, reporting 77,761 and 60,253 discharges respectively. SAS analysis has found that Welsh Water had a total of 108,860 discharges, although this is not directly comparable to England due to differing methods of reporting. Paddle-outs will be taking place in the majority of water company catchments this weekend – including Scottish Water, where there were 15,289 spills last year, and Northern Ireland Water, where discharge figures are unavailable due to a lack of monitoring.

The Environment Agency boasts that 100% of storm overflows in England are now fitted with monitoring devices. However, analysis of this year’s Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) data by SAS has revealed that EDM monitors at 1,930 storm overflows, 13.3% of the total monitored overflows, are operating at less than 90% capacity – which means the discharge figures for England in 2023 are an underestimate.

SAS is calling for an end to sewage discharges into all bathing waters, and high-priority nature sites, by 2030.