Demonstrations across country get underway to highlight UK waterways
Over 30 different protests are planned nationwide
Thousands of protesters are taking to coasts and rivers across the country today to protest against the state of waterways in the UK.
The protests have been coordinated by Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), who are calling for an end to sewage spilling into the UK's waterways.
As well as this, demonstrator are calling on the government to address the health and environmental problems sewage overflows have, as the impacts on ecological and human health continue to be seen.
Over thirty protests are set to take place across the UK later today, with protestors stood atop paddling boards holding signs calling for better treatment of the nation's waterways.
Giles Bristow, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage, said that those in charge of our rivers and seas need to be doing more.
“We need the water companies to change what they're doing, to stop profiting from pollution, and we need the regulator and the government to hold them to account," he said.
"So, we're demanded some urgent and accelerated action to make this happen, because it's just not good enough."
He also gave some idea on what people going to the beach will see at the demonstrations: "There has been sewage spewing into our waters for decades now, and we have had enough.
"So what people can expect to experience is a fun, inclusive atmosphere where people are dressed up and ready to get in the water, where they can have, join in and have their voice heard".
In 2023, there were 584,001 recorded discharges across England, Scotland and Wales - a 51% increase on the previous year - with sewage released into waterways for a total of 12,966,322 hours.
Water companies have proposed plans for £11 billion in investment for reducing sewage discharges for this period, with customer bills increasing in tandem.
The government's previously pledged to additional funding for work on preventing sewage spills.
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