Sewage pollution talk by WASP, 13 April

Sat 15 Apr 2023, 17:39

Many apologies Rod---I mixed up Cherwell and Evenlode ! But it makes no difference to the amazing good work you are doing.

Sun 9 Apr 2023, 19:49

In relation to the amazing work that Ash and Peter have been doing, please sign this petition

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/633609

Protect the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) 2004

In 2015, Fish Legal won a landmark case that secured the public’s right to obtain environmental information from privatised water companies under the EIR 2004. If the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill is enacted these regulations will be repealed, unless the Government preserves them.

If the regulations are repealed, the public's right to obtain environmental information directly from privatised water companies disappears too. Privatised water companies could go back to polluting and abstracting water from our rivers without public scrutiny. We want the Government to guarantee the public’s right to environmental information held by these companies, by retaining the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Sun 9 Apr 2023, 19:00

Ashley Smith of WASP has given several talks to Charlbury organisations in the last few years, as well as attending the Riverside Festival, and I believe he will be with us again at the Citizen Science Saturday 22 April 10-4 pm.  It's always worth talking with him to get the latest update. Ashley and Peter have done an extraordinary amount of work see here:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/04/sewage-sleuths-river-pollution-slow-dirty-death-of-welsh-and-english-rivers

Wed 5 Apr 2023, 23:04 (last edited on Thu 6 Apr 2023, 09:28)

I can only endorse all that Glena says – save that my acronym (following WASP’s example) was CUTE! for Clean Up The Evenlode!  Sadly, personal issues intervened so CUTE! never got beyond that – but now at last the issue is becoming high profile politically.

 As it should have done…

Long post - click to read full text

Wed 5 Apr 2023, 11:33

It is vey good that sewage pollution now has a much higher profile in the news etc. The very bad thing is that it exists at all and needs such attention. When I became ill and started campaigning on line and by email (rather than on foot) about four years ago, the only people involved (probably an exaggeration) seemed to be Ash (WASP) and Rod (Cherwell). Now rarely a week goes by both in the national press and locally without some report or cry of outrage. WODC had an excellent day long meeting the other month with representatives from local organisations in some way connected with water (though, of course, we all are). Ash had a walk the other weekend to show people the worst local areas of pollution and it was well attended I gather and by some who had not heard of WASP or realised how great the problem was. We MUST keep up the pressure. The heavy fines that the water companies are now beginning to pay (sometimes !) are fleas off an elephant's back. They make HUGE profits. The most effective way of  getting anywhere is to keep on keeping on---make the government see that we all care about this and doing nothing will cost votes.

Wed 5 Apr 2023, 09:32

Many of you are interested in WASP's ongoing campaign against sewage pollution, so I thought I should forward the invitation to come and hear the latest news from WASP at the Witney Eco Forum, on Thursday 13 April, at St Mary's church on the Green, Witney. 

Bar opens at 7pm, speaker Ashley Smith from WASP from 7.30pm. 

You may have seen Ashley and his colleague Professor Peter Hammond on BBC television recently, featuring on the Sunday night programme Our Troubled Rivers with Paul Whitehouse. Hope to see lots of you there!