Surfers to ‘paddle out’ across UK in protest over beleagued water sector

Rebecca Speare-Cole, Press Association Sustainability Reporter

Surfers are set to “paddle out” across UK coasts, rivers and lakes as part of nationwide protests over the ailing state of the water sector.

Led by the Surfers Against Sewage (Sas) campaign group, the protesters will call on the Government to end the current model of private ownership, which has been blamed for industry failures.

Publicly-owned water and sewerage authorities were brought under private ownership in England and Wales in 1989, but companies underinvested in infrastructure for years, leading to widespread leakages, sewage pollution, supply concerns and ultimately higher bills.

Groups will gather at more than 50 locations on Saturday for the annual protest, which sees thousands of people paddling out on their boards.

Among those expected to join the Brighton Beach protests is Julie Maughan, whose daughter Heather Preen died from E.coli after visiting a Devon beach in 1999.

Ms Maughan said: “I lost my daughter Heather to dirty water, and I will not stop fighting until no other family has to go through what mine has.

“This Government has had every opportunity to fix the broken water system and chosen not to.

“People are getting seriously ill and families are afraid to get in the water.”

She will join actors from the Channel 4 docu-drama Dirty Business, which explored the failure of privatised water firms to protect the environment and customers.

Surfers taking part in the action across England will protest against the Water Reform Bill, after its announcement in the King’s Speech in Parliament on Wednesday.

The Bill is set to introduce measures to overhaul regulation, but it will also entrench the continuation of the privatisation model in law, the protesters said.

While ministers also push ahead with a series of reforms to crack down on failing companies, they have ruled out bringing them back under public ownership.

Giles Bristow, chief executive of Sas, said: “The Water Reform Bill is nothing more than a whitewash, locking in a failed system that has seen pollution, shareholder profits and consumer bills soar over three decades.

“That is why thousands of us are paddling out in protest.

“Public support for privatised water has all but vanished and while thousands take to the beaches in protest, the Government is burying its head in the sand.”

Polling commissioned by the campaign group ahead of the protests found that only 7% of adults in England believe water companies should remain privately owned and able to make a profit for shareholders.

The Opinium survey of 2,000 adults found 77% supported a change in operating model, with 35% backing full public ownership.

The findings also suggest that 15% believe ministers are handling the water crisis effectively, while a quarter have considered not paying their bill in response to their suppliers’ actions.

In Wales and Scotland, campaigners “paddling out” on Saturday will call for their newly elected candidates to tackle the sewage crisis through more funding and powers for regulators.

With only 30% of the sewage network monitored in Scotland, the protesters will demand 100% transparency to protect water users.

Sas is also demanding a world-leading, year-round water quality testing programme in the devolved nations that protects people whenever and however they use the water.