Active sea swimmer, Maria Villa Vine, shares details of this upcoming event, aimed at raising awareness of sewage being pumped into our rivers and seas. In her own words, Ed
Whilst it seems to me that our local MP and Southern Water seem to have forgotten about the sewage in our seas – maybe due to the tourists packing their bags and leaving our beaches – there are a dedicated bunch of ocean activists who haven’t!
Island protest
Recently there have been demonstrations held in Whitstable in Kent where an estimated 2,000 protesters turned the beach into a crime scene and this coming Saturday, 15th October at 10am, Gurnard Bay there will be a gathering of sea lovers, activists and families acting to challenge Southern Water and Bob Seely in order to do more.
Support from Rapanui
We are delighted to share the event with the support of Rapanui who are committed to helping communities with an ecological perspective.
We expect more from the water companies and politicians and yet time and time again they show us that profit over people is what they desire.
One star rating
In July 2022, Southern Water was awarded one out of five stars by the Environment Agency which makes it one of the two worst-rated water companies in England and Wales. The government’s storm overflow reduction plan has been criticised that it lacks urgency.
The Environment Agency has known for over ten years that sewage dumping is occurring and Southern Water has done the bare minimum to keep our seas clean.
Does MP care or understand?
The Isle of Wight MP, Bob Seely had the opportunity to vote to increase the legal requirements on water companies and he chose to vote against this.
It seems clear that he neither understands or cares about the problem.
Asking Southern Water to take the initiative
We are protesting to raise awareness, but also to ask Southern Water to take the initiative and do the maximum that they can and not the bare minimum.
Benefits of swimming
The benefits of swimming are not only physical and benefit emotional wellbeing alongside. There was an increase of swimmers during Covid as people realised the benefits of cold- water swimming with the community that comes with the joy of the sea.
Many of us have made lifelong friends from our swims and we are all champions of cleaner seas with an emphasis on the long-term solution for the health of ourselves, our children, the marine life that relies on a healthy ecosystem and the economy.
Photos will be taken
We would like to thank in advance Tim Butt who will be taking visuals from the day with the use of his drone. These images may be used for publicity purposes.
Please be aware of this and that your image could be captured on the day. We will not use any names to ensure privacy.
With thanks and love to Alice Malia for yet again illustrating a fantastic image in support of the event.
