Record Sewage Discharges in 2024 Leave No River in England Healthy
In 2024, storm overflows in England discharged untreated sewage for a record total of 3,614,427 hours, leaving no river in England or Northern Ireland in 'good overall health'. Meanwhile, author Robert Macfarlane's new book, 'Is a River Alive?', explores the notion of rivers having rights, amidst the global 'Rights of Nature' movement.
Macfarlane's writing process, called 'daylighting', aims to bring long-buried ideas to the surface, mirroring the freeing of 'imprisoned watercourses' in urban planning. His book focuses on four water bodies: the Rio Cedro in Ecuador, Chennai's creeks and estuaries in India, the Muteshekau-Shipu in Canada, and a chalk river near his home in Cambridgeshire.
The Whanganui River in Aotearoa New Zealand was granted 'legal personhood' in 2017, with a council of River Guardians appointed to protect its life force. This follows the 'Rights of Nature' movement, which grants legal rights to rivers, forests, and national parks to combat climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. In the UK, groups like Surfers Against Sewage and River Action campaign for better water quality and encourage citizen science to survey and test rivers. However, the privatisation of water companies in England and Wales has negatively impacted river ecosystems, with rivers used as an endlessly extractable resource.
Macfarlane's book challenges readers to reconceptualize the 'aliveness' of rivers and consider their rights. The 'Rights of Nature' movement shifts focus away from objectification and private property rights, towards balanced relationships between human and non-human actants. Despite the record-breaking sewage discharges in 2024, the book offers a timely reminder of the need to protect and respect our waterways.
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