The Big Paddle Out
Thanet Green Party campaigners joined other members of the Ramsgate & Thanet Save Our Seas groups, local swimmers, surfers and paddle-boarders at Kent Surf School for a Paddle Out protest at Viking Bay in Broadstairs on Saturday 20th May. Over 30 protesters took to the sea on surfboards, paddle-boards and bodyboards, accompanied by swimmers and supported by protestors on land with placards and music, to highlight their concerns about the pollution of our seas.
©Steve Roberts
National Day of Paddle out protests
The event was part of a day of Big Paddle Out demonstrations across the country called by national protest group Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) to highlight the continuing irresponsible behaviour of water companies all over the UK, after the annual data release on sewage discharges showed sewage was released for 2.4 million hours across the UK last year. In Thanet, repeated sewage spills into our seas have rendered our beaches inaccessible, while water outages lasting up to several days have affected some areas.
Southern Water’s woeful record
Before the protest, a Surfers Against Sewage spokesperson highlighted Southern Water’s woeful record – an environmental performance rating of just 1 out of 4, and 80 ‘dry spills’ (sewage releases after no rainfall for 2 or more days) in the past year – the highest number of any water company. Yet water companies continue to pay their executives millions of pounds, including substantial bonuses, and most continue to pay out dividends to shareholders. SAS is asking for an end to shareholder payouts until water companies comply fully with environmental regulations, a cap to company bosses’ bonuses and transparency on where money paid to water companies is going.
©Tricia Austin
Take Action – Join The Green campaign to save our seas
If you want to join the campaign to stop the water companies polluting our seas for profit and to fight for clean seas and beaches then click HERE and go to our ‘what to do about Southern Water’ post to find out how to take action.