Creaking, underfunded water infrastructure is a travesty - as is the loss of gardens & green space that could be soaking up much water fueling discharge, road runoff & flooding. Porous paving, downpipe planters, water butts reduce pressure on drainage.
urbangreenbluegrids.com/meas….
It's not surprising there are so many sewer overflows to the Mayes Brook in Barking.
Lots of front gardens are non-porous so the rain can't soak away. Instead it rushes into sewers.
Just one grassy garden among a paving desert.
1/2
An unwanted record was passed today - 500 hours of continuous @thameswater sewage, spilling into the tiny #RiverVer, one of the world's rare #chalkstreams. Over 30 days in 2024, so far. It's as disgusting now as in was in the 1980s when the spills first started.
Water companies: it rained
Climate change models showed, for years, the UK would likely get wetter winters & drier summers. They knew this.
The government asked water firms to prepare & let them set their own targets. They made little progress at achieving their own targets.
Why is @Ofwat and the Government afraid to take on Macquarie Bank over the £2Bn Thames Water scam and why let them take over Southern Water?
Too big to be investigated? @bbc already did and it's inexcusable that no action was taken.
Another cover-up?
bbc.co.uk/news/business-4115…
All the development in Salford in recent decades - would have been a perfect opportunity to overhaul the sewage system beneath the area. Imagine if 'regeneration' projects created healthy, clean neighbourhoods with a thriving river at their hearts.
theguardian.com/uk-news/2024…
A moment to reflect on the actions of the people who led us into the water scandal and then walked away:
1. Former Chair of the Environment Agency in 2019 claiming everything was fine. Gross negligence or dishonesty?
@adamvaughan_uk@bwebster135
"China and Abu Dhabi investors are holding Thames Water customers ‘to ransom’."
Exactly what's going on. The governments of China and Abu Dhabi, shareholders of @Thameswater have fleeced customers for billions and now they want more.
No, no and no!!! 🤬
inews.co.uk/news/china-abu-d…
Will government end the exploitation of water billpayers money that should have never been put into untrustworthy and devious hands.
Or fall for the latest scam and bail out shareholders that have been ripping us off for three decades?
Blue plastic gloves all over the place including the banks of the Letcombe Brook, a chalk stream and Priority Habitat courtesy of @sainsburys petrol station Wantage. Can I speak to an Area Manager -no!
Ongoing litter problems at @sainsburys Wantage. The store is built on the banks of a precious chalk stream and the amount of litter is disgusting from both store and petrol station.
The River Lambourn still receiving non-stop sewage & pedestrians still running the gauntlet of being covered in 💩 every time vehicles drive through.
Residents are reporting to us that @thameswater 'clean ups' involve hosing & brushing into the SSSI and SAC chalk stream.
Calls from @LibDems to put @officialthameswater into special measures; they are seeking £2.5billion bailout, want customer bills up by 40% have declined ANY funds to industry wide infrastructure improvements, and want to reduce penalties for sewage outages @RiverActionUK
So you popped into the local village Aldbourne, and you're confronted with human excrement in the middle of the street, a lot of it.
Hiding behind a screen erected to stop you seeing even more of it, @thameswater engineers.
Brought to you by regulatory failure & corporate greed