Campaigner roundup

Exmouth sea swimmer, Jo Bateman, is bringing a small claims court case against South West Water for “loss of amenity,” the BBC reported. She argued her right to swim in the sea at will, which she argued has mental and physical health benefits, is taken away by sewage releases.

Conservation charity WildFish has written to the Office for Environmental Protection, to press its claim that Ofwat and the Environment Agency are not upholding sewage rules lawfully. The campaigner pressed both regulators to uphold their duties following a ruling of the High Court last year in a case over the legality of Defra’s Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan, but has been dissatisfied by their replies and referred the matter to the OEP.

Windrush Against Sewage Pollution has written to Thames Water’s new chief executive Chris Weston, asking him to clarify his position on two issues: whether drinking water supply is compromised through pollution (it said the Farmoor reservoir is exceptionally low, despite the adjacent River Thames running high but being subject to sewage releases upstream); and dry spills. On the latter, the letter asked: “Do you intend for the company to continue to operate outside the law or will you bring an end to your predecessors’ exploitation of the Environment Agency’s tolerance of criminal pollution, and if so, when?”