Firstly the two rivers to which I refer are the Severn and the Trent. Secondly there is a water authority with a similar name.
No other country in the world has a fully privatised water supply and waste water system. Not one. As a matter of fact even this statement is not entirely true. It is just England. In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland it is still in public ownership.
The news a few days ago that Severn Trent is to pay out £300 million in dividends is a shock – read here. This on top of making £200 million profit. This money must be reinvested in the infrastructure.
Two Rivers – A Personal Tale from the Riverbank
Many years ago I worked on a big dairy farm near the Trent, one of the Two Rivers. Franny, our tractor driver and I worked overtime to try and empty the slurry store one year. It was never ending. One Sunday morning we turned up for work early to be greeted by one of the two brothers who owned the farm. There had been torrential rain overnight. The store was empty. It was all in the Trent.
I’m here to help support farmers, but sometimes and it is far too often, they do not help themselves.