SOS Whitstable

A short and important film - please watch, and email your MP!

We are very excited to be hosting a @peopleswater.bsky.social event in Whitstable on the 1st May, which will be open to the public. More information here: www.thepeoplescommissiononthewatersector.co.uk. See you there? 🌊

Public invited to have say on water sector fit for the future Independent Water Commission explores fresh ideas on water sector reforms, both evolutionary and revolutionary.

UK Govt invites public to have a say on water sector future.

Another impression management exercise.

Govt has ruled out public ownership, worker/customer elected directors, worker/customer vote on exec pay.

Won't prevent dividends, inflation-busting customer bill hike, sewage dumping.

Why UK water regulator’s decision on bills is set to stoke turmoil Ofwat has not given heavily indebted Thames Water the increase in customer payments it was seeking

We're in the FT today:

“It’s utterly disgraceful that after 35 years of bonus scandals, sewage spills, and huge dividends, water firms are set to be rewarded by Ofwat with huge inflation-busting bill hikes”

Bring Thames Water into PUBLIC OWNERSHIP NOW

www.ft.com/content/9216...

Merry Christmas!

Today Ofwat have approved bill hikes for all water companies, with Southern Water topping the charts at 53% over the next five years.

We’ve made it very easy for you to email your MP today to let them know how outrageous this is - campaigns.sewagecampaignnetwork.org.uk thank you

This Thursday Ofwat will confirm how much our water bills will increase by over the next 5yrs. Southern Water bills are set to rise by 84%… if you think that is a joke, please sign below…

A *very* good turn out of MPs, and campaigners.

The Govt refuses to consider no bailout of water companies and public ownership of them.
The only way to change this is a huge lobbying of MPs.
Take advice from The Sewage Network Campaign and @feargalsharkey.bsky.social @ashsmith43.bsky.social @henleymermaids.bsky.social @soswhitstable.bsky.social

Great turnout for our MP Briefing on the water industry this evening at Portcullis House 💪🏼🆘🌊 and special thanks to @greenjennyjones.bsky.social for coming along to support us too 💚

Ban the Bailouts The Government is trying to pass a law that could force the public to bailout failing water companies. Help stop this scandal, before it’s too late.

🚨 #banthebailout 🚨

The Water Bill is about to enter the Commons, and it allows the bail out of water companies by the public.

Our good friends @sascampaigns.bsky.social have launched a petition to tell the government that this is unacceptable. Please sign and share!

www.sas.org.uk/water-qualit...

Ban the Bailouts The Government is trying to pass a law that could force the public to bailout failing water companies. Help stop this scandal, before it’s too late.

🚨 #banthebailout 🚨

The Water Bill is about to enter the Commons, and it allows the bail out of water companies by the public.

Our good friends @sascampaigns.bsky.social have launched a petition to tell the government that this is unacceptable. Please sign and share!

www.sas.org.uk/water-qualit...

Thanks for sharing Andy, will message you.

We have been told over and over that this is just ‘algae’, does it look like algae to you? 🤔

We will! A few exciting things in the offing - will be in touch about them soon :-)

Thank you so much for hosting us Jenny! We found it so interesting and inspiring. Onwards we go 💪🏼

MAPPED! Today’s bathing water classifications for England! Explore the Watershed Pollution Map to find out how the Environment Agency rates your waters.
watershedinvestigations.com/home/find-ou...

What a time to be alive.

A visit to the Lords today to meet with the wonder that is @greenjennyjones.bsky.social, and hear the 3rd reading of the Water (Special Measures) Bill.

As the bill now moves to ‘the other place’, we will be campaigning hard for further amendments, esp. banning public bail out of water companies.

Thames Water faced with £100mn bill from creditors’ advisers Fees represent an additional drain on finances of troubled UK utility as customer bills are set to rise

Didn’t somebody once say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?

Let’s end this never ending cycle of public bills bailing out private equity and bring water back into public ownership, now.

www.ft.com/content/bc6e...

Not from the untreated outfall, this was the actual brook including dilution from the treated effluent and the stream - so much for storm sewage being relatively harmless contaminated rainwater.

Witney, Oxfordshire.

@soswhitstable.bsky.social

If this post from @premnsikka.bsky.social has shocked you as much as it’s shocked us, please consider signing and sharing our petition calling for public ownership, we are so close to 300,000 signatures - www.change.org/p/return-the... thank you 🙏🏼

Give these top voices a follow. 🙏🤙🌎🐋

go.bsky.app/UPu5PJq

So true. It’s such an absolute disgrace.

Unfortunately with the problems we have, the additional revenue from bills won’t be enough to be impactful - they need to spend way more! We are using the argument of additional flow to make the point that they will be breaking their licence by more regularly going over their full treatment limits.

We have actually estimated how much additional flow the houses will create - and it’s not pretty!

Why should YOU pay for Thames Water's debt? #weownit #publicownership YouTube video by We Own It

The government should step in NOW to protect you from Thames Water's £15 billion debt mountain 💰⛰️

youtube.com/shorts/qauVo...

How privatisation works (and Thames Water is just the latest example).
1. A government takes a national asset built up with taxpayers' money and the work of public servants over many years, and hands it, for a fraction of its value, to a private company.
2. In doing so, it creates a monopoly.
🧵

Christmas sewage lights going on early

Thames Water’s IT ‘falling apart’ and is hit by cyber-attacks, sources claim Exclusive: Company relies on obsolete tech and there are troubling security gaps, Guardian investigation suggests

Thames Water are a threat to our entire country, their in-aided, un-regulated demise could ruin us financially. A threat to security! SPECIAL ADMINISTRATION NOW @cleanilkley.bsky.social @soswhitstable.bsky.social @paulpowlesland.bsky.social @ewanmg.bsky.social
bit.ly/3UXV7tH

One of the first to dump untreated sewage afetr a bit of rain and snow - Oxford.

Operating illegally since 2017 , Ofwat funded the upgrade in 2019 and Thames Water held on to the money instead.

Worst bit - South Oxfordshire District Council has approved more houses to be added to it.