Over the years, the government has drastically slashed funding for the Environment Agency - the organisation that helps protect our treasured ecosystems, and ensures water companies don’t dump raw sewage in our beaches and rivers. Since those cuts, sewage dumps have doubled. [2][3]
The UK is ranked last in Europe for bathing water quality. People are swimming in human waste without knowing, swimmers are falling sick and some beaches are closed due to high levels of raw sewage. [4][5] Our beautiful natural sites deserve better - we deserve better.
But the government seems to think we don’t need to do anything. In fact, our new investigation has shown plans to give water companies powers to investigate their own pollution incidents and downgrade the importance of water testing. This would mean water companies will become responsible for reporting their own incidents - what could go wrong? [6]
Instead of giving them free reign to carry on polluting, the government must set ambitious targets to clean up water in England and Wales, and properly fund environment agencies to make sure water companies are held to account. Can you join over 150,000 people calling on the government to clean up their act?
