Rower dreads being covered in sewage if she capsizes in the River Thames
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A rower described how she dreads the thought of capsizing in the Thames because of the risk of getting covered in sewage.
Saratu Audu frequently rows through the river in south west London with other members of the Fulham Reach Boat Club.
But on the day regulator Ofwat proposed £168 million worth of fines for three of England’s biggest water companies for failing to limit river pollution, Saratu said she often "saw stuff floating about".
She added: "It's poo together with fat and sometimes it's branches and twigs and it's awful to look at and it does make you feel, oh my God, I hope I don't capsize today because if I do I'm literally going to have poo all over me.
"When it rains it's really horrible, it floats around the tops of the boats as well.
"So that's one of the things we have to do. We have to wash boats after every session because it's you actually see it.
"You see the scum on the side of your boat and beneath it."
Saratu said she had to put her rowing kit on a hot wash each time she went out on the river. Her club also has showers to help maintain hygiene.
Regulator Ofwat proposed the fine for Thames, plus sanctions of £47 million for Yorkshire Water and £17 million for Northumbrian Water, in the first results of a landmark probe into all 11 of England and Wales’ water firms.
Ofwat chief executive David Black called the three firms’ records of polluting rivers and waterways “a catalogue of failure”. He said: “Our investigation has shown how they routinely released sewage into our rivers and seas, rather than ensuring that this only happens in exceptional circumstances as the law intends.” Water companies have faced public outrage over the extent of pollution, and at a lack of investment in water infrastructure, rising bills, high dividends and executive pay and bonuses at privatised water firms. The fine could be especially impactful for Thames, which is in the grip of a funding crisis and has more than £15 billion of debt. It said last month that it only has enough money to continue trading until the end of May 2025.
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