Dozens of people gathered in Witney to protest Thames Water’s dumping of sewage into local rivers and waterways.
The march started at the Old Bathing Place and ended in a short rally in the Market Square with speeches from Ashley Smith from WASP (Windrush Against Sewage Pollution) and Oxfordshire county and West Oxfordshire district councillor Andrew Coles.
The crowd then moved to Witney Sewage Treatment Works where organiser Michael Brooker made a speech and delivered a letter to Thames Water.
Mr Coles said: "It remains one of the biggest scandals of the last 12 years that Government allows the water companies to get away with using our rivers as public sewers.
"Action must come from Westminster to ensure that the water companies don't put their profits ahead of their environmental obligations and the needs of our community."
Witney Sewage Treatment Works discharged sewage into the River Windrush for 16 days between Christmas Day and January 9.
The dumping into a tributary of the Thames caused festive swims to be cancelled at Port Meadow in Oxford.
Some 500 people attended a protest there hosted by the Clean Our River Thames (CORT) and #EndSewagePollution Mid-Thames groups.
It is currently legal for water companies to discharge raw, untreated sewage into rivers in times of ‘exceptionally heavy rainfall’.
Water companies must monitor their overflows and provide data on spills of untreated sewage each year.
Cassington sewage treatment works, the closest treatment works upstream of Port Meadow, have been referred to the Environment Agency for investigations.
Thames Water said the Environment Agency notified it last summer that they were conducting an investigation into storm discharges at Witney but nothing new had emerged in the last couple of months.
READ ALSO: Even increased sewage capacity will not be enough, says Witney MP
The water company is investing £8million to increase capacity at Witney Sewage Treatment Works, which serves around 45,000 people in West Oxfordshire, by 50 per cent to 360 litres/second.
This work is due to start this year and be completed in early 2024, though Thames Water said they would do their best to bring the completion date forward to late 2023.
However, campaigners are concerned this may not be sufficient and point to Environment Agency methodology which suggests capacity of 412 litres/second may ultimately be required.
READ MORE: Thames Water boss says we can stop sewage dumping and we do invest in infrastructure
Thames Water has over 180 criminal convictions, was fined £20million in 2017 and £4million last year for polluting Seacourt Stream in Oxford.
The company has said it regards any discharge of sewage as "unacceptable" and pointed to its investment in and expansion of Witney Sewage Treatment Works.
It said since last April it has been issuing live notifications, for Witney and five other sites in the area, whenever these discharges happen.
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