Campaigner says public have 'had enough' over water companies
The state of our rivers has been a growing public concern –with water companies coming under increasing pressure to clean up their act.
Shropshire campaigners have been pressing for action and accountability over the state of the River Severn, but one leading protester says she remains sceptical over whether water firms can meet public expectations, while still operating for a profit.
Claire Kirby, a campaigner with the Shrewsbury-based Up Sewage Creek, said she believed the majority of the public were now keen to see water brought back into public ownership.
She said she believes that firms understand the anger over the issue, but is still doubtful over whether they can resolve the concerns.
She said: "I think they have grasped that people are really angry and they have grasped that it is a serious issue, but I do not trust them as far as I can throw them in terms of sorting it out.
"But I believe they are frightened of water companies being taken back into public ownership and they are talking about long term planning as a result – but still wanting to make a profit."
She added: "At this stage of the day It is clear that making a profit out of water, which is the stuff of life, is dangerous. They are also a monopoly so they are not really a business in a normal sense because you don't have any choice of where you go for water."
Mrs Kirby also referenced a leaked e-mail from Severn Trent boss Liv Garfield calling on other UK utility firms to position themselves as “social purpose” companies to appease the Labour Party and head off any future threat of being taken into public ownership.
In the e-mail Ms Garfield said: “One idea we believe might be attractive to the Labour leadership is re-purposing utilities and utility networks into a new breed of declared social purpose companies – companies that remain privately owned, who absolutely can (and should) make a profit, but ones that also have a special duty to take a long-term view.”
Responding Mrs Kirby said: "That does not fill me with confidence in the water companies' commitment to sort this out. They just want to continue to make money out of our water and people have had enough."
