That stinking feeling
I was invited to speak at a anti-sewage protest on Sunday, this is what I said.
A few weeks ago I was invited to speak at what became known colloquially as the Oxford sewage protest, but was in effect a protest asking for/demanding clean water in our rivers and seas. Those of you who been reading this substack for a while will know that I have written about my experiences wild swimming before. On Sunday I spoke alongside liberal democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, Layla Moran and representatives of other interest groups. This is what I said:
“I’m a local resident and all-year round Thames swimmer. I’m here representing some of the local swimming groups.
My group swims in the Thames all-year round. Whatever the weather you will find us out there on a Saturday morning in the wind or the rain. We love it.
And I suppose some people might be asking the question: “Why do we love it?”
Well the reason is because there are a number of tangible benefits.
Firstly, we’re outside doing exercise. We jog up to King’s lock and swim back down. Physically it should be good for us.
But actually we often say that our swimming outings are less of a physical health exercise and more of a mental health exercise. We talk to each other in a way which perhaps we don’t have a chance to in other situations. We discuss the big issues and the little ones. For me it’s of vital importance. If I miss my Saturday swim, it has an impact on my frame of mind.
There are studies which suggest that there are benefits of swimming itself (quite apart from our floating therapy sessions) on a range of mental health conditions.
And of course there are the benefits that come with being outside in a flourishing natural surrounded by wildlife. Spending time in green space, for example, has been associated with lower levels of stress and reduced symptoms for depression and anxiety.
And I think perhaps this one of the reasons why the situation with our rivers is so disappointing. They should be a resource for local communities to enjoy and benefit from. Instead they are being polluted by the very companies who ought to be charged with keeping them clean.
We have had people in our group who have become seriously ill from swimming in the river. One friend of mine got dysentery. Dysentery in the UK in the 21st century – it’s almost unbelievable.
We have had other members who has stopped coming or will only come if there’s been several weeks with no discharges (which happens very rarely). Others who have toyed with the idea of joining the group have given up after a single swim or before even getting their toes wet because they are concerned about the potential health impacts, or simply, and understandably, put off by the idea of swimming in human faeces. Who can blame them?
There is a hardcore of the group who will go whatever the weather, whether there have been discharges or not. We are the most pigheaded and stubborn members of the group and the reason we still go, despite the risks, is largely on principle. We feel like we shouldn’t have this wonderful facility taken away from us because an enormous corporation is failing to do its job properly.
But there are days when it is hard to convince yourself it is worthwhile. The days when there a small bergs of foam floating down the river with you. The days when you are surrounded by bacterial sludge. The days when there are tea bags or tampons in the water. The days when all you can smell is the detergent effervescing from water around you.
I’m afraid I’m not painting a very pretty picture of wild swimming in Oxford. But the reason we keep it up are for the good days. The days when you can jump from the banks without fear of the consequences of swallowing some of the water. The days when the sun is reflected of the surface of the water warming your face as you swim. The days when the water is so clear you can see your feet as you tread water. This is why we continue to swim. In the eternal optimism and hope for these good days.
But, unfortunately, they come around all too infrequently. Our rivers are being polluted by our water companies and the regulator is too toothless to do anything about it. Our local water company, Thames Water is clearly incompetent. Two weeks ago Henley council passed a vote of no confidence in Thames Water, for precisely that reason.
The company is on the brink of collapse. By some measures Thames water are 14.7 billion pounds in debt, which is ridiculous because they have a literal monopoly. Water companies were given to the private sector debt free. There is no competition. Everybody needs to buy their product. Their customers have to use their services. It is impossible for another water company to compete. Yet they are still fouling it up. Metaphorically they are taking the piss, but literally they are pouring it straight back into our rivers.
As we stand here just weeks away from a general election, it’s time to say to our politicians – and I’m glad many of them have turned out today – that this isn’t OK. We need promises that this will change. We need assurances that the health of our river, and indeed our maritime, ecosystems will be put before the profits of these private companies. Because we deserve an environment that is protected and not polluted by our water companies and we deserve clean rivers that can help us to improve our health rather than putting it at risk.”