The privatisation of the water industry has failed and is no longer fit for purpose.

In recent years, the water industry has discharged hundreds of thousands of hours of raw sewage into English and Welsh rivers, lakes and coastal waters, the equivalent of decades’ worth of pollution being dumped into our natural environment.

The government and water companies claim that our ageing infrastructure is too expensive to fix. Yet since 2010, the water industry has paid out over £20 billion in dividends to shareholders, while senior executives pocket millions of pounds in bonuses each year.

We call on the government to return the water industry to public ownership. Greedy, profiteering companies are exploiting this essential natural resource to generate record profits, money that should instead be reinvested in maintaining and upgrading our infrastructure to modern standards.

This crisis has spiralled out of control, causing severe environmental damage, harming tourism and coastal economies, and putting public health at risk. Enough is enough.

So what can you do to help?

• Sign our petition and share it across your social media channels
• Send it to your friends, family and colleagues
• Write to your local MP, demanding that the industry be brought back into public ownership
• If you share the petition on social media, tag them too

Together, we can make a difference.

Ed Acteson (SOS Whitstable)