West Dorset’s MP Chris Loder launched the Clean Rivers of West Dorset (CROWD) action group on Friday 14th April with a special meeting at Charmouth Village Hall to examine the performance of Wessex Water and to press for improvements to water quality across the area.
Mr Loder set up CROWD in early 2023, with the support of local river groups and catchment partnerships, to take positive action to clean up West Dorset’s rivers and coastal waters. By pooling resources and data and sharing local knowledge, CROWD is working to hold water companies to account and to address other sources of pollution to improve coastal and river water quality for the benefit of all West Dorset’s people and wildlife.
This is the latest step in the local MP’s campaign to clean up West Dorset’s rivers, and stems from Mr Loder’s own passion for restoring the rivers he grew up with in Dorset. Mr Loder said;
“The launch of CROWD comes at a time of significant progress in terms of improving our nation’s waterways. Ofwat’s changes will mean shareholders of polluting companies will not receive big payouts – something I have long argued was wholly wrong. The Government has also recently announced bans on single use plastics and proposals to ban wet wipes containing plastic. Potential civil liability penalties for water companies has risen thousand-fold from £250,000 to £250 million and greater powers given to Ofwat and the Environment Agency to crack down on Water Companies not fully committing to slash their sewage discharges”
The launch of CROWD on 14th April was attended by representatives of Wessex Water who were questioned on the environmental performance of the company locally and what further steps could be done to reduce sewage discharges and improve water quality. This came weeks after Mr Loder’s campaigning victory after Ofwat announced changes to their licences to link dividend payments to their environmental performance – something the local MP had been urging his fellow MPs to support and apply their own pressure to support.
CROWD Member and Char Valley Parish Councillor Andrew Carey said; "One of the key guiding principles of CROWD is that its core members are the coastal rivers and streams of West Dorset. The humans in the room are only there to represent the rivers. This helps us keep our focus squarely on working with Wessex Water, the Environment Agency, and with our MP and supporting organisations like the Dorset AONB - to improve the condition of our rivers and not get sidetracked by party politics or past grievances. It’s impressive what a bunch of rivers can get done.”
