Dozens join protest against river sewage

Campaigners at Sunday's protest in Victoria Park, Newbury, Berkshire

Dozens of protesters have gathered to express their anger over continued sewage discharges into chalk streams and rivers.

The demonstration took place on Sunday in Victoria Park, Newbury, Berkshire.

Peter Devery from the Angling Trust said the River Kennet has seen “months of ongoing sewage pollution”.

Thames Water said it regards all “discharges as unacceptable”.

According to campaigners "the continuous discharge of untreated sewage" into both the River Kennet and River Lambourn "presents a dire threat to river life and community health."

Sam Marshall, a river-keeper on the River Kennet, said the riverbed should be “crystal white" but "it’s black" and "the weeds should be this lovely rich emerald colour," but "it's green with a black tinge to it.”

He said: “It’s [the river] been annihilated by a whole winter of sewage."

Newbury MP Laura Farris was at the protest over the weekend

Newbury’s MP Laura Farris said she’s “frustrated at the lack of action”.

Ms Farris said: “Thames Water has profoundly let this community down, over the whole of this winter.”

She said she has been working with her constituents, Thames Water, the Environment Agency, the water regulator and the government for the last seven months and "so the anger doesn’t surprise me.”

Campaigners from the Angling Trust say "they have had enough"

Mr Devery said he hopes the protest will make a difference as he believes “there is a real national movement going on because people have had enough of this.”

Anna Boyles, a Thames Water representative, told BBC Berkshire she was at the protest on Sunday because she wanted to listen to concerns from residents and key stakeholders and the message was “certainly heard loud and clear”.

She said: “We have had one of the wettest 12 months on record and specifically the groundwater levels of the Lambourn are the highest they have been in over 30 years and that really does have a huge impact on the amount and duration that we do discharge.”

Campaigners say sewage discharges present a dire threat to river health

A Thames Water spokesperson added: “We regard all discharges as unacceptable and we have published plans to upgrade over 250 of our sewage treatment works.

“We recently completed a £5 million upgrade to Hungerford sewage works and we’re completing a £2 million upgrade at Kintbury. "

“Taking action to improve the health of rivers is a key focus for us and we are leading the way with our transparent approach to data," it said.