Londoners demand cleaning up rivers polluted with sewage
15,000 people marched in London demanding to clean up the rivers and seas of Great Britain clogged with sewage, The Associated Press reports
According to the organisers, 15,000 people took part in the march along the River Thames to Parliament, many of them wearing blue clothes and waving the same flags – thus forming ‘a human river’. The police did not give the exact number of the protesters. The March for Clean Water was organised by various groups – such as Greenpeace, British Rowing, and others.
"Private companies that provide both water and sewage have failed to update their often-Victorian infrastructure as populations have grown and demand swelled. Leaks are common, and during heavy rainfall companies discharge raw sewage into rivers, lakes and the sea. The number of discharges increased by more than 50 percent last year to a record 464,000 spills, according to the Environment Agency,” the source said.
The Labour Party government elected in July introduced a bill to strengthen regulation and toughen penalties for water companies guilty of environmental pollution. Nevertheless, the demonstrators stated more measures needed to be taken.
