A flotilla of inflatable ‘poo’, satirical blue plaques for politicians and fake sewage spills on the doorsteps of water company headquarters are some of the ways environmental activists have made their feelings known about pollution in UK waterways in recent months. The creativity on display really deserves an award category of its own.
It also demonstrates how those water companies targeted by campaigners have an extraordinary job on their hands if they are to recapture the narrative – and the high ground. Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) were an ingenious solution when first introduced, but times change, and despite decades of opportunity to manage both the overspills and public expectations, water companies have been caught on the hoof.
The increasing availability of water quality data, as well as renewed interest in the local environment, means this is a core issue for many thousands of people. I take my choir’s WhatsApp group as a barometer of public feeling – and currently, if a comment is not about singing, it is likely to be about water.
For those working in the water sector, especially in the utilities, it has become difficult to share basic personal information at a barbecue or family gathering. I have even heard of people preferring to lie about their job, rather than spend an hour fielding questions on the state of our rivers or the pay-packets of the higher uppers.
Even more worryingly, some water company employees say they are uncomfortable doing outreach at festivals and shows where they come face-to-face with the public. No one should feel they are in danger at their place of work, whether at home, in an office, at a treatment works or in the middle of a field at a music festival, but it comes to a pretty pass when that is how water workers feel doing vital work in the community.
How can people be engaged and informed on core issues if those tasked with stewarding our resources and relaying messages cannot meet them in person? How can essential change happen?
Many will remember the head of the Environment Agency giving a red-alert speech in 2019, warning that we are facing the “jaws of death”, characterised as “the point at which, unless we take action to change things, we will not have enough water to supply our needs.” James Bevan also said that the most important element in the coalition of the willing needed to avoid this scenario – is the public.
The issue of water security has still not landed with the public in a meaningful way, but when it does, it is likely that there will be another round of fury and misgivings. There is still an opportunity to get on the front foot.
It needs to be recognised that water company employees are the public, and embedded in the communities they serve. With the right incentives, they could be mobilised as advocates for key messages on water saving and sewer misuse.
They might also have a role to play in providing initial feedback on the suitability of communications campaigns. Local knowledge and such a direct connection with community feeling might have helped two utilities avoid their recent fumblings – one over environmental messaging in an advert later banned by the Advertising Standards Authority, and another on stock footage of overseas landscapes used in a video celebrating their region.
The situation on water is too serious and the sensitivity of the public too great for missteps like this. They make the industry look careless and disconnected, which in many ways is far from the truth. Thousands of people are working incredibly hard in their own neighbourhoods to deliver clean water and manage wastewater day-in and day-out.
Where water companies are not able to tell necessary stories to certain audiences, partnering third parties could make it possible to carry important messages to places and people the utilities can no longer reach. That includes the supply chain, media, corporations, non-profits, NGOs, even local authorities. Indeed they may have greater freedoms, and be more imaginative in the ideas they produce.
The truth is that long-term water security – in the UK and globally – will not be possible unless everyone not only changes their behaviour, but becomes the messenger. For those of us working in the water sector, we need to untether ourselves from the idea that water companies are the only bearers of news and information to the public.
It is increasingly pressing that everyone who cares about water shares stories and speaks up and out about these complex issues. In doing so, we should also heed the words of Mahatma Gandhi, who said, “Whenever you have truth it must be given with love, or the message and the messenger will be rejected.”
