Norfolk activists braving Wensum River in protest to raw sewage being dumped in rivers
Action like this is taking place across the country, and being led by Extinction Rebellion
Many of Norfolk's environmental activists are braving the Wensum River today- to protest against raw sewage being dumped in our rivers.
Action like this is taking place across the country, and will see Extinction Rebellion place 100 blue plaques appear around rivers and on beaches around the UK.
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James Harvey is from XR Norwich.
"We don't treat our countryside and rivers with the respect and due-diligence with that they need to be. They are vital eco-systems in our countryside and sewage is going to poison fish and affect bathers.
"We don't want to see this stuff put out there, it's going to be a danger to people's health.
"These water companies, which have been privatised since 1991 what made huge profits- in excess of £50 billion since 1991, while their executives are paid millions of pounds a year.
"Wouldn't that be better spent on fixing leaky pipes, building reservoirs and cleaning up our rivers?"
"They are talking decades and decades to clean up our waterways, to slow down the release of sewage into these rivers. With the targets they have got at the moment, the rivers will be dead before anything happens- which isn't good enough.
"This is clearly something that has captured the public's interest and why wouldn't it? We all want clean rivers and waterways."
What has the Government said about all this?
The Environment Agency say that Anglian Water has been fined more than half a million pounds-
Because they failed to stop raw sewage being discharged into a river for 23 hours, killing 5,000 fish.