New water sports alliance demands pollution action
Prominent UK water-based sports groups which collectively represent 450,000 members, athletes and participants have joined forces to protest about water pollution.
The new body – the Clean Water Alliance – consists of The Angling Trust, British Rowing, British Triathlon, GB Outrigger, Paddle UK, Royal Yachting Association and Swim England. It has set out three priorities that will inform its actions:
• further and faster action on pollution to improve the health of UK waters by 2030;
• enable people to make real-time informed choices about where and when to participate in water-based sports and activities; and
• recognition of all recreational water users across decision making and policy.
Aligned to these priorities, the alliance has three asks of regulators and decision makers:
• for regulators to be adequately funded to monitor, investigate and hold polluters to account, harnessing nature-based solutions;
• access to accurate, real-time water quality information all year round including the compulsory monitoring of all sewage outlets, recognition of open-source science relating to water quality and the creation of a centralised information hub for all water sports users; and
• a change from "bathing waters" to "recreation waters" within government policy to recognise the wide range of activities that depend on clean water.
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