Oxford protest against pollution of rivers with sewage

A protest was held on Port Meadow near Wolvercote Mill Stream today (June 16) which saw residents, campaigners, charities and politicians gather to speak out against the pollution.

People were gathered with signs which read: “Thames Water is full of s***”, and “Save our rivers, stop poo-llution”.

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Jo Sandelson, city councillor for Wolvercote, thanked everyone for attending the protest, adding that ‘politicians of all colours’ were invited ‘except for Tories who got us in this mess’.

She said the river near Port Meadow was awarded Bathing Water status in 2022 meaning it should be ‘closely monitored’.

Protesters at Port Meadow on Sunday (Image: NQ) However, she said: “We’ve been fobbed off in the main as the dumping is still happening but change and does happen.

“This is now a front page issue.”

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Ashley Smith, from the charity Windrush against Sewage Pollution (WASP), told the crowd they are ‘doing the right thing’ by ‘standing up’.

He said: “What can we do? You can certainly make your voice heard in an election. Look at who has got the best, most convincing policies.”

Children were among those protesting (Image: NQ) Paul Powlesland, a barrister and co-founder of ‘Lawyers for Nature’, also addressed the protest, stating that the River Thames should have rights.

He said: “What would our country be without that river? How would our history even exist without that river?

“And yet we give it no rights at all. The river can't call the police. The river at the moment can't bring a legal case in its own name.

“In order to stop this crisis, we need to go right to the heart of the problem and give legal rights and legal personhood to nature.

“That river over there should have the right to bring cases in its name and guardians that fight for its interests.”

Speaking ahead of the protest, Liberal Democrat MP candidate Layla Moran said this is ‘not an issue that is going to go away’ and she wants to campaign for Blue Flag status for the river, a status given to waters that are ‘clean and safe’.

She said: “I hope it makes it clear to whoever wins the election and forms the Government that this is an issue that is going to go away.

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“The Liberal Democrats are calling for Blue Flag status which is hugely beneficial and takes it up a notch.

“We want all our rivers to be clean as we remember them as the kids.”

Speaking at the protest, she said the amount of sewage deposited in the rivers is ‘shameful’.

A spokeswoman for Thames Water said: "While all discharges are unacceptable, the sewage system was historically designed in this way, to relieve pressure and prevent overflow into people’s homes.

“We appreciate how much waterways are loved and enjoyed by everyone, and we are committed to minimising our impact on the environment, but we can’t do it alone. Farming, industry, livestock and more extreme weather also play a role in river health.

"We have published plans to upgrade 250 of our sites across the entire region, including our Oxford, Witney and Cassington sewage treatment works. In most cases this will increase capacity and reduce the number of necessary discharges.

“More investment is needed across the entire sector, as infrastructure ages and demand on it increases. That’s why we’ve asked for increased investment in the next regulatory cycle between 2025-2030.

"We’ve put transparency at the heart of what we do, and we were the first water company to publish a real time data map on our website, for third parties, such as swimming and environmental groups to use, which in its first year has been viewed over 350,000 times.”

Other candidates for Oxford West and Abingdon alongside Ms Moran are: Anni Byard - Social Democratic Party; Chris Goodall - Green Party; James Gunn - Reform UK; Josh Phillips - Independent; Vinay Raniga - Conservative Party; Ian Shelley - Christian Peoples Alliance; Stephen Webb - Labour Party.