2024-03-31 07:19:00
The Thames River, the ‘lifeline of England’ that runs through south-central England, including the capital London, is covered in excrement and is causing disgrace. Participants in the ‘Oxbridge (Oxford vs. Cambridge)’ rowing competition, which boasts a 195-year tradition, were banned from entering the rowing competition, telling them to “be careful of splashing water.”
River Action, an environmental group, announced on the 29th, “When we collected samples from the competition area and tested the water quality, the amount of E. coli detected reached an average of 2,863 CFU (bacterial count unit) and a maximum of 9,801 CFU, which is close to 10 times the allowable limit.” The UK Environment Agency’s acceptance standard for E. coli at beaches is less than 1,000 CFU per 100 ml.
According to the BBC, the Thames River is filled with excrement and the smell is so unbearable. Leonardo Jenkins of Oxford University, who lost in the rowing competition held that day, complained at a press conference, “I vomited before the race,” and “I think it would have been better if I had just written a little ‘poo’ in the river.” Oxbridge’s tradition is for the winning team to celebrate by jumping into the river, but this year, jumping into the river was prohibited. A warning order was also issued to be careful not to come into contact with splashing water while rowing during the race. The Thames river sewage incident occurred when water companies discharged large quantities of sewage that had not been properly treated for a long period of time. According to the UK Environment Agency, untreated sewage was discharged across the country for 3.7 million hours last year, the highest figure since monitoring began in 2015. Compared to 2022 (1.75 million hours), it is more than double.
In the UK, rainwater and sewage flow through the same pipe, so it is designed to drain some of the sewage to prevent backflow during floods. Environmental groups criticized, “Sewage leaks should be allowed only in very unusual cases, but they are being released indiscriminately.” The British government also called for quick action, calling it “unacceptable.”
However, solving the fundamental problem is not expected to be easy. Since being privatized in 1989 under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, British water companies have been criticized for focusing only on increasing profits for shareholder dividends rather than investing in facilities or improving services. Thames Water, the number one company, is also owned by private equity funds and overseas pension institutions, and its debt last year amounted to 14 billion pounds (regarding 24 trillion won). In this situation, Thames Water has recently come under increasing criticism from public opinion for its self-rescue measure, including a plan to increase water rates by up to 40%.
Reporter Hong Jeong-su [email protected]
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