Coventry Quakers Protest Sewage

Pete Duckworth of Coventry Meeting reports on a protest held by Quakers and others against sewage dumping by Severn Trent (the water supplier covering all of Central England).

On Friday 7th July seven Coventry Friends joined over 50 protesters from a range of groups including Coventry Trades Council, The Green Party and Extinction Rebellion to march through the city centre to the Severn Trent  head office which is in the city centre in St John’s Street. We were protesting against environmental damage caused by sewage dumped into local rivers. The accompanying photo shows the high point of the event where “Richard the Turd” (played by David the brother of our Friend Rachel was  crowned king of sewage.  This was a delightfully good natured demonstration which got lots of support from passers by and was observed and photographed  repeatedly by Severn Trent employees from within the building.

Severn Trent is not alone in the disgusting practice of sewage dumping but it is uniquely profitable to the point of avarice The Severn Trent shareholder dividend this year exceeded £260 million, the CEO is the highest paid of the UK water bosses receiving over £3.2 million this year mostly in bonuses and perks though to be fair you might want to note that lower bonuses have reduced this by £7 million 😳 . Surely this money should be invested in proper treatment plants and new reservoirs to make our infrastructure safe and resilient.

The event received coverage on the BBC News website.