the anti-pollution ACTIVIST

HUGO TAGHOLM IS CEO OF SURFERS AGAINST SEWAGE (SAS). THEY’RE CAMPAIGNING TO #ENDSEWAGEPOLLUTION IN UK RIVERS AND WATERWAYS

“People often question why a charity founded by surfers cares about rivers. But they’re the blue arteries of our country. And what happens to our rivers happens to our oceans.

In the 1990s, when SAS formed, our coastal waters were severely polluted – but we’ve seen some real improvements. This decade, we need the same for rivers. People picture them crystal clear, but this is far from reality. In 2020, water companies pumped raw sewage into rivers and coastal waters 400,000 times. You had no idea? That’s what the industry wants. Some days, I won’t surf by the river mouth at a local spot because it smells of sewage – it’s upsetting to have to make that choice or risk your health.

We’ve been campaigning to get the Sewage (Inland Waters) Bill passed to place a duty on water companies to ensure untreated sewage isn’t discharged into inland waters. We’ve had some wins: water companies will now have to publish how often they discharge raw sewage. But people in power keep kicking big decisions into the long grass.

Still, as a campaigner, you have to be an optimist. For the first time, I’m seeing the convergence of government thinking, industry innovation and a push from the public for change. I think we’re potentially going into the most radical decade of human progress. Rivers should be central to that as they’re superhighways for animals, organisms and materials to circulate our land.”