Campaigners to gather on Welsh beach in protest against sewage dumping

Local protesters against the dumping of sewage and farming run off into seas and rivers are holding an event this weekend at Rhosneigr beach in Anglesey.

Organised by Extinction Rebellion Bangor, who campaign on climate change and the environment, the event is set to take place on Saturday 5th August 11am – 2pm.

The Dirty Water Campaign be family friendly and interactive, showing people the impact of the shocking state of Welsh waterways.

The event is part of a nationwide weekend of action across the UK to bring attention to the polluted state of beaches and rivers and the loss of species who live in our waterways.

Protesters hope The Dirty Water Campaign will pressurise the government to regulate the discharge of raw sewage into waterways and beaches which pollute local bathing spots.

Retired teacher, Francis Taylor from Groeson who is attending the event said; “The government and water companies must clean up their act and stop the dumping of raw sewage in our rivers, water courses and seas. We are doing this for our children, for the planet, and to prevent further biodiversity loss.”

Eddie Tombs, from Llanberis, said: “We’ve watched in horror as our rivers and seas have become open sewers since October 2021, when the government voted down a proposal to stop water companies pumping waste directly into our rivers and seas. We’ll be highlighting the government’s failure to protect our waterways.”

The issue of sewage pollution has been hugely controversial in recent months and last summer over a hundred beaches were closed to the public after a series of sewage discharges by water companies left the sand and sea contaminated with human sewage.

Nature

Wanda Zyborska from Menai Bridge, said: “It’s disgusting, literally, to think what’s being pumped into our rivers.

“The government and the water companies aren’t going to clean up unless ordinary people put pressure on them. We need everyone who cares about our rivers and seas to stand up with us and speak out. Today is part of a bigger campaign to protect nature and our waterways.”

You can join in by signing up to https://actionnetwork.org/forms/dirty-water

High amounts of rainfall cause sewage tanks to become full, leading to raw or partially treated sewage leaks into water systems.

Campaignershave warned that sewage pollution by Welsh Water has led to wild swimming spots becoming unsafe.

Extinction Rebellion say this is predicted to only get worse as climate change causes more extreme weather conditions such as heavy rainfall and flash flooding.