'Medway Liberal Democrats launch their online petition to highlight water pollution'

We are launching our online petition to call on Medway Council to monitor waterways for pollution.

The link to our petition can be found here: medwaylibdems.org.uk/en/petition/water-quality-testing-of-river-medway

The annual DEFRA report on the performance of English water companies, stated that Southern Water had the highest number of pollution incidents and was last, with just a one star rating.

The report stated that in 2021, Southern Water reported 372 separate incidents of pollution getting into our rivers and seas, 12 of which were classed as serious. These numbers are deemed significantly above the agreed targets set. Additionally Southern Water has been awarded the lowest Supply Demand Balance Index (SDBI) score, in response to not fully doing its job in supplying residents with safe drinking water.

John Castle, Chair of Medway Liberal Democrats said: "Water companies cannot be trusted to monitor the quality of our waterways. Currently, they meet their statutory monitoring requirements by measuring at a time of their own choosing, allowing them to avoid reporting the consequences of raw sewage leaks.

This means their numbers cannot be trusted and the residents of Medway deserve to know the true quality of the waterways. Other local authorities are already monitoring water quality themselves, we are calling on Medway Council to gather the data to hold water Southern Water to account over their leaks.

The River Medway and its estuary are at the heart of our towns, providing a haven for our precious wildlife and a place for leisure and recreation for all of us. This is why Medway Liberal Democrats have launched an online petition. We can no longer simply let companies like Southern Water to police themselves. Medway Council needs to listen to our sensible solutions and stand up for our residents. Medway and its river deserves better."

ENDS

Additional Information & links for Editors

Defra report: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/water-and-sewerage-companies-in-england-environmental-performance-report-2021

• Companies House data on operating profits of water companies 2020/2021

• Rivers Trust report

• Reporting of Environment Agency report into sewage discharge

The Liberal Democrats have also proposed a 'Sewage Tax' on the profits of water companies, which would then be used to pay for the cleaning up our rivers after sewage dumps. Southern Water made profits of £138.8million in 2021. Our proposal would be to then charge them a 16% tax on these profits and use that money to create an emergency fund to for the clean-up of our polluted rivers.

The move follows outrage at water companies discharging sewage into rivers over 400,000 times in 2020, according to the Environment Agency. Only 14% of England's rivers are in good ecological health, according to the Rivers Trust. These profits are absolutely scandalous. Our treasured local rivers have been polluted by disgusting sewage yet Southern Water is raking in massive profits without taking any action. People around Medway are furious at how badly Southern Water treat our local environment.

Liberal Democrats have also called on the Government to ban new bonuses for water company executives until sewage offences are brought to an end. In our area, Southern Water paid their executives £3,425,200 and made an operating profit of £138 Million in the last financial year."