Around 50 protestors gathered at Appley Beach on Saturday (17th May) to protest the pollution of the waters around the United Kingdom by sewage.
The Appley Beach gathering was part of a nationwide protest at over 40 locations across the country.
Surfers Against Sewage were protesting against the health risks associated with doing what they love and demanded those in power act to clean up the waterways.
Surfers Against Sewage have said:
“We want to swim, surf and paddle in clean water and not be worried about getting sick We are taking to the UK’s waters to show the government and decision-makers that this issue is not going away and we will not stop until we see an end to sewage pollution.
“Last year, sewage was discharged almost 600,000 times across the UK – that’s an average of more than once every minute. Sewage in our waters is making people sick and putting them off using the UK’s incredible coastlines, rivers and lakes.
“We know the privatised water industry in England and Wales is broken – water companies are making profit off pollution whilst people and planet suffer. Radical change is needed to fix our broken water industry. We demand a system that puts people and planet before profit.
“We campaigned hard for an Independent Water Commission and now it must act – this is a once in a generation opportunity to end sewage pollution and it must be taken. MPs must listen to their constituents and give their backing to radical reform of the water system.”
Chani – the Isle of Wight Rep for Surfers Against Sewage – added:
“Our coastal waters got investment that has now ended. DEFRA and Southern are now refocused to mainland sites to reduce spills in all but 2 small locations on the Isle of Wight.
“This is not good enough. We need continued physical investment and application of learning so our heavily designated Island waters and shared marine space of the Solent get continued focus. We deserve poo-lution free seas”.
