Frome supporters of Extinction Rebellion were out in the town last weekend to draw attention to the polluted state of the River Frome following the Environment Agency classifying it as being in a ‘poor ecological condition’.
The group met at St Aldheilm’s Well where they held a well blessing and heard speeches, including one by the local green party parliamentary candidate, Martin Dimery, before leading a procession down Cheap Street to the music of a samba band as they held up signs reading, ‘Wessex Water cut the crap’ and ‘stop the sewage’ as they walked through the town.
The group also unveiled a plaque denouncing the ex-MP David Warburton who didn’t support the act that would ban water companies from pumping waste into rivers.
A Frome XR spokesperson said, “The water blessing was a moving and fitting start to the protest where we expressed gratitude for what clean water can provide for us – but we need to take care of this precious commodity. Wessex Water discharged sewage into rivers in the Mendip area 1,892 times for a duration of 12,895 hours in 2020 – our rivers are unsafe to swim in, to fish in and to enjoy.
“We then held a short piece of street theatre where challenging questions were thrown at a ‘Wessex Water CEO’, after which his ‘Pa’ decided to abandon the company! Everyone was invited to join in singing songs suitable adapted for the occasion before Martin Dimery gave a short speech explaining the need for people to take action in the face of no action.
“Martin then unveiled a plaque denouncing Warburton for not supporting the act banning water companies from discharging sewage in rivers. The procession then moved through the Market Place before joining Friends of the River Frome in Rodden Meadow where the real representatives of Wessex Water had some difficult questions to answer.”
Phillipa Clarke who attended the event added, “It makes me so angry when I think of how much money is being paid to shareholders in comparison to how much is being spent on renewing infrastructure and how long this has been going on for. One can’t help but wonder whose interests are at the heart of big companies?
“We have an absolute right to clean water – it is not owned by anyone – and we pay good money to the water company to make our water safe to drink and bathe in. The time is now for Wessex Water to prove they really do care.”
