WAVE 6

Everyfin you need to take part

WATER PRESSURE ~ a Citizens' Assembly on Water
Community Assemblies for Water
Cancel Your Direct Debit or Boycott Your Water Bill?
Ceremony | Water is Life
Ceremony Ideas | Water is Life
Catch of The Day
Fishy Business
Digital Do-It-At-Home Actions

WATER PRESSURE ~ a Citizens' Assembly on Water

Water Pressure flyer

Let's step forward as stewards of our water commons

The ultimate goal of Dirty Water Wave 6 is for us all to arrive together at this point.

In the face of government inertia, the Citizens’ Assembly is the ideal mechanism to deliver a reset for water provision. It cuts across all social divisions to bring a representative group of citizens together to make informed decisions that are proven to mirror wider public opinion. The people can take ownership of the solution. It sets a precedent for returning agency in swathes of public life, currently controlled by unaccountable quangos or local monopolies. And it will build public support for Extinction Rebellion's Central Demand, the Citizens' Assembly on Climate and Ecological Justice.

The focus of the Citizens' Assembly on Water will be on the implementation of effective governance structures and regulatory mechanisms, beyond the remit of the water companies, to work in alignment with the needs of people and nature.

Citizens will choose between water being used as a profit making commodity, as the current management prefers, and the other possible means of delivering quality supply, conservation, management, recycling and a reinvigorated ecology. It is a natural resource and belongs to us all.

We must achieve the continuous publication and free access to all water quality and pollution data. These are our right.

The Proposal for the Citizens' Assembly on Water

The proposed scope for the Citizens' Assembly on Water

NB - details here will change as we organise the Water Assembly coalition

See an Assembly at work - America in One Room

Don't take "no" for an answer!

There are many obstacles to frustrate the Citizens' Assembly or to compromise its recommendations. Let's look at a major one, the complaint that there's no money to do what needs to be done.

Cost ("who pays?") could forestall the deliberations of the Assembly, appearing to be a baked-in constraint to thinking freely about how to resolve our water issues. The Citizens' Assembly must be free to say what it recommends without anticipating cost implications, or there is no effective statement of the proper standard - the Assembly is hamstrung. And the full statement of what is needed is not given.

IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!

That amount of money?!

There are two counters to the costs-oh-dear do-nothing resisters. Or governments.

The first is, everything that we want as a national community will fail if we don't provide a working national infrastructure. Even the politicians' own fantasy of Growth doesn't flicker into view if nothing works. Capitalism was built on energy, water, transport systems and regulation which are provided by the state with public funds.

The second is, the money is available. If assets are taxed as enthusiastically as wages. For instance, a Land Value Tax constructed to drive out economically useless rentiers will see land use returns/rents going into public funds, making the necessary sums available for national renewal projects - starting with the water infrastructure! Taxes on investment properties, second homes, and other assets would yield still more, plus a levy of a few pence on share transactions much more still. Such measures address the gross inequalities in our society at the same time.

Never be told there's no money.

We did that ... we had to.

IT WAS INEVITABLE.

Community Assemblies for Water

Build on Dirty Water actions and ceremonies to invite your neighbours into a Community Assembly on the water issue that most affects you all. Investigate, discuss together and recommend the actions you want to see taken. Form or build on local alliances and collaborations to follow up your recommendations. Whether local authorities' responses are available and forthcoming or not, feed your community's energy and ideas into the campaign for the UK's Citizens' Assembly on Water. Let's #UpgradeDemocracy

Everything Community Assembly

Community Assemblies book on the Rebel Toolkit

Dirty Water Communities Support

Telegram group - Community Assemblies Sharing
Drop in for a chat - Fridays from 15:00

Let's Pool What We Learn: our campaign contacts database

IMPORTANT Please DO NOT add personal information to this contact database - it's publicly available and will be shared widely. Respect each other's data in the same way you'd like yours respected and ensure we're GDPR compliant. Read about GDPR and Personal Data and learn why it's important to be compliant.

To add to the database:

First, read the Guide on the READ ME sheet (find this at the bottom of the spreadsheet).
Add your contacts to the ADD YOURS HERE sheet (find this at the bottom of the spreadsheet).
This info will be moved to the relevant Region or Nation sheet.
Share the link to the Dirty Water Campaign Contacts Database and ask others to add their contacts to create a powerful resource for everyone to use.
Dirty Water Campaign Contacts Database.

Cancel Your Direct Debit or Boycott Your Water Bill?

We all want the polluters to pay for how they've neglected our waterways and breached their licensing obligations, while siphoning off profits that could have repaired some of the damage to our aging infrastructure.

In 2024, as captive consumers of our water companies, we are footing the bill for investment in our water supply. Many of us now face significant hikes in our bills to pay for their poor performance and shoddy profiteering. So it's not enough they are risking lives, public health and preservation of wildlife, we are paying for their corrupt practices.

You can register your displeasure with the water company and cause them inconvenience by cancelling your direct debit and paying by bank transfer or sending an old-fashioned cheque.

Take action with Cancel for Clean Water.

Many people are boycotting the sewerage part of their water bill. If you want to find out more and take action - the Don't Pay for Dirty Water campaign started last year which is now swimming along nicely.

Ceremony | Water is Life

Word Cloud created from The Symbolism Of Fish: Exploring Different Cultures And Meanings

Create a Water Ceremony

Throughout history, we have always held ceremonies and rituals. They are our means of celebrating, marking moments, or making sense of the world we experience. For example, events such as naming ceremonies, funerals and unions (marriages), or more frequently, a football match or gig, are all a form of ritual where we share our feelings. They can include performance and express a sense of mourning or appreciation. Ceremonies are sacred. They are powerful.

Water is sacred in many cultures. Water is fundamental to life. Wherever clean water flows, life grows. Water represents emotions, renewal and life, which all ebb and flow. Constantly evolving, ebbing and flowing, it reminds us that we can too.

How can you connect with your emotions to truly embody water in this ceremony?

What Can a Water Ceremony Bring?

Ceremony brings people into a deeper connection with water, which can be moving and uplifting. It can bring a deeper dimension to an action, so you can better:

Create an emotional connection with your local water bodies.
Connect with the emotions you feel to drive change. Preserve them as your source of hope.
Continuous outreach - engage your community in devising and publicising your ceremony, then invite the wider public to your event.
Develop and strengthen relationships with other groups.
Build a common community purpose.
Influence local authorities and regulatory organisations.
Bring people to your Community Assembly.
Raise awareness and promote a Citizens' Assembly on Water.
Filming your ceremony and sharing it as widely as possible can cultivate a greater connection to the issues and inspire others.

Fresh water is precious and finite | All life depends on it

Our waterways are the arteries and veins of the earth. If we pollute those waterways, life will die.

“Nothing on this planet had so forcefully hammered into her the ultimate value of water. Not the water-sellers, nor the dried skins of the natives ... Here there was a substance more precious than all others - it was life itself and entwined all around with symbolism and ritual.” - Frank Herbert, Dune

“Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.” W H Auden, First Things First

Although issues are faced in multiple facets of water, some communities may prioritise different areas, such as flooding or pollution.

The Power of Celebrating Water

Connection through water, with nature and each other, fosters well-being, through a regenerative and healing relationship, encouraging the flow and exchange of energy and knowledge. Consider making more of an impact by following some of these suggestions:

Actively cultivate a sense of curiosity/care/communication/collaboration through creative interactions with the river (e.g. song, music, poetry, arts and crafts workshops or installations).
Demonstrate vulnerability: create an impactful ceremony to demonstrate your anger, grief and sadness at the state of our waterways and your love for all life.
Explore: physically get to know your local waters (the source, wells and tributaries) to engage with and care for your local waterway.
Research: look at wider connections, the history of the local waters and collect local stories and images.
Consider your catchment area, sewage treatment works, landfills and other sources of pollution. How can you bring awareness of all the different sources of pollution to this waterway?
Presence: Be present around waterways and feel the energy and power they can give to you.

Ceremony Ideas | Water is Life

Ideas and Assets to Create Your Ceremony

On this page you will find many ideas for your water ceremony. We have also created outreach materials for you to promote your ceremony. You can use the editable versions of the leaflets to add your text, QR codes and date/place of your ceremony and also use the printer-ready versions to send to a professional printer.

Download Stickers | posters | flyers

Some Inspiration & Ideas

Community

Engage other river/water user groups to build a community of stewards.
Lead walks, clear litter/blockages.
Consider joining water testing group .
Offer Science Street Talk to other groups.
Share research to strengthen knowledge and connection to the waterways.
Post on social media, highlighting local pollution issues.
Discuss the change you want to see to the waterbodies you care about.

Art/Creativity

Create artwork
Write or read poetry
Make mandalas
Chant/sing to rivers/make music (more on this below)
Use Sound Bowls

Music/Storytelling

Song of the Thames (YouTube 29min) by Sam Lee - singer and song collector.
Traditional Native Storytelling - Salmon Boy (YouTube 12min) with Roger Fernandes.
The Lost Words Blessing - (YouTube 4min) a song created from Robert Macfarlane's book The Lost Words.
Collect stories.
Running order [Dropbox 1 min] for the Ceremony for the River Wye.

Education

Puppets/Masks/Costumes

Make a ‘big splash’ in your local media with colourful puppets, masks and costumes.
Welcoming the River Wye Ceremony [YouTube 5min] at Herefordshire Council featuring Wye River Goddess puppet.

Catch of The Day

From an original idea by Hubbub and their For Fish's Sake, Don't Drop Litter campaign.

Where to Take Action

You can take this action to any door including Ofwat's. And include more spicy elements as and when you want to.

What You Need

Gazebo or tarp- striped if possible!
Table(s)
Plastic trays
Fake ice
Today’s 'catch' – nappies, tampons, wet wipes, fake poos, old shopping trolley etc
Signs for the stall
Blackboard with today’s menu (or is it possible to have a brownboard?)
Dirty Water Banner
Placards
Brown Smoke
Leaflets
Branded T-shirts for those handing out vouchers
“Free Catch of the Day” vouchers
Climate Crime scene tape

'Catch of the Day' stand

Create a fake market fish stand with a gazebo and some tables.
Selling today’s catch – dirty nappies, used condoms, soiled wet wipes, and anything and everything we find polluting our rivers.
Rebels dress as fish market traders and shout for people to buy today’s “Catch of the Day”.
This is a visual and humorous way of highlighting the issue, which from afar will look like an ordinary market stand (albeit in an unusual location).
Shouting - catch of the day - in a market trader manner will highlight the action to those further away, increasing the reach.
This is not designed as a spicy action however you could incorporate spicy elements if you desire to do so.

Other things you could include

Utilise revolving doors, e.g. signs on one saying '[Name of authority] staff in', sign on the other saying 'Water Company staff out'.
Use 'Climate Crime Scene' tape around the building.
Take a box of today’s catch inside to offer to staff.

Hand a demand to the authority

Write a letter to their CEO and deliver it on the day of the action.
The exact contents of the letter are up to you but it could include one, or all of the following:
- A brief overview of their lack of action to date.
- What we think they should do in the immediate short term to stop the water companies from continuing as they are:
  - Ban dividend and bonus payments until water companies stop the illegal dumping of sewage).
  - Tighten up the current regulations that allow the water companies to lawfully rate beaches and swimming spots as “excellent” despite sewage being dumped there.
  - Increase the punishments for illegal activity and increase fines.
- Include your thoughts on the too-cosy relationship between them and the water companies.

An extension to the design

Have rebels dress in 'Catch of the Day' branded t-shirts.
Give free lunch vouchers out to commuters getting off the train in the morning – act as though it’s a normal new start-up that’s opening and giving away free lunches as part of the launch. This should help bring more people to the action and enable us to engage with them on the issue.

Messaging

The messaging needs to be carefully considered. There are several issues you could focus on, trying to cover them all is likely to dilute any individual message, so choosing one or two may be a better option.

Issue of bonuses and dividends being paid without the investment in infrastructure.
Extremely weak punishments for those who dump sewage illegally and ineffectual fines.
Water companies being allowed to rate beaches and swimming spots as ‘excellent’ despite the sewage being dumped – poor testing procedures.
Revolving door between the water companies and the regulator.

Roles

Action coordinator
Fish stall staff – some to be behind the stall and some to be shouting from the front
People carrying trays of today’s 'catch' – 3-5 people
Banner holders
Protest Liaison
Photographer
Spokesperson
Live streamer / Videographer
Action Wellbeing
Outreach (handing out leaflets / sign-ups)
XR Rhythms (optional)
Police Station Support [if spicy elements included]
Media & Messaging support

Possible future uses

The 'Catch of the Day' stall can be easily replicated elsewhere by other groups. You could even consider taking it to actual markets as a fun way to communicate the issue to the public.

Take the action to OFWAT's [or any] door

Overview

Set up in 1989 to monitor the newly privatised water industry, OFWAT, the water industry watchdog, has been accused by politicians and experts of failing to deliver the financial or management discipline that was promised.

OFWAT are guilty of regulatory capture (dominated by the interests they regulate and not by the public interest) and is in thrall to the very companies and people it is expected to oversee.

Lord Andrew Tyrie, Tory peer and former chair of the Competition and Markets Authority, has called for a thorough review of regulation in the UK, saying some regulators had been “captured by vested interests”.

A regular churn of staff between Ofwat and water companies has added to a sense that the watchdog is overly cosy with investors and water companies at the expense of consumers.

Ofwat consistently fail to properly regulate the market and consistently approves water company’s financial models; which allow those water companies to take out massive loans to pay dividends and bonuses whilst failing to invest in the vital infrastructure we need.

They fail to take action against the illegal dumping of raw sewage and the fines they levy are so pitiful the water companies would rather pay them than pay to upgrade the infrastructure and fix the problems.

Fishy Business

Watch how to make and use the Fish Stencil

So don't be Koi ~ let's get fishy with it!

We have a nifty set of instructions and stencil files can be found in this folder.

What you'll need:

A4 printer
Tracing paper
Rubber/eraser
Cutting mat
Scalpel and blades
Scissors
Pencil
Masking tape
275gm paper
Spray paint or foam roller
Paint tray if using rollers
For consistency use Warm Yellow or a colour close to it
Mask
Gloves
Protective clothing

Chalk sprays are available. Prices vary but check out Graff-City and Montana:

Graff-City
Suspect Package (cheapest)

Nifty Instructions

There are three formats of files in this folder:

Printing - use these files to print out the stencil and then cut out by hand.
Laser Cutting - use this file with a laser cutter which will do the cutting for you.
For Document - these are image files to show the stencil in Rebel Toolkit or other documents. Don’t use these to make a stencil.

Use the attached files to print out your stencil at the size you want. These can either be cut out of the printer paper and used directly (likely to be a one-off use) or used as a template to cut out of thicker paper or card - old wallpaper is a good material for durability, although it is hard to lay it flat. Try to leave a border around the stencil to prevent creating a shadow around where the stencil is placed.
If you have access to a laser cutter the design is provided as an .svg file from which you can use to cut the stencils, saving you a lot of time.
If you want a durable stencil, mylar film (PET - plastic) can be used, which can be cleaned and re-used many times. If using this you can cut just one stencil, cut the full stencil and then mask off unwanted areas like the rod or 'source' with masking tape before spraying.
Hold the can about 6′′ – 8′′ from the stencil and start spraying outside the stencil. Make a sweeping continuous motion across the stencil to the other side.
Don't spray too closely as the paint will pool and dribble under the stencil. Do some test sprays on a bit of scrap cardboard to make sure the can is spraying correctly and to get the feel of the can and the distance required to spray from.
When you have finished using the spray paint, to clear the nozzle, hold the can upside down and spray until only clear gas is released.
Wear a mask and gloves and read the hazards on the chalk paint can

Legal

Rebels are asked to be mindful about where they paint the streets.
Please do not damage private property or small and independent businesses as this can be seen as vandalism and might impact relationships within the community.
Try and use materials which cause minimal damage to the environment.
Some actions potentially seen as “vandalism” may have a high risk of arrest if private sector buildings are targeted. It is unclear what police reaction will be to some of these actions, so read the legal advice and take precautions.

What about spraying over existing artwork?

As a golden rule don’t not tag over other posters and spray tags as this could cause conflict. Organised fly-posters and graffiti groups can be territorial and could get violent.

LAW - Paint the Streets info

You are unlikely to get stopped in the UK.
The police are usually uninterested in chalking and flyposting unless you force them to take action by doing it under their noses.
NOTE: Avoid taking or posting photos of anyone doing the work if they are potentially identifiable as it can be used as evidence against them.

What if I’m stopped?

If you are stopped it’s more likely to be a member of the public, private security, or a police community support officer (who doesn’t have any more power than the others).
The best response is normally to simply walk away. If this is not possible and you are ‘detained’ you aren’t obliged to say anything to anyone. This technically includes the police, though not confirming your details can increase the possibility of arrest.

Further Info

Will chalk spraying get me arrested?

The Symbolism Of Fish: Exploring Different Cultures And Meanings ~ Erika Stephens

Digital Do-It-At-Home Actions

Digitally Rebel with Dirty Water

Let’s work together doing what we can, where we can, when we can, to put an end to the UK water pollution and corruption scandals.

Take part in Dirty Water Digital Do-It-At Home Actions on the Digital Rebellion website.

Google Review Swarm

Let’s come together to create a swarm of negative 1-star Google reviews for the head offices of our toxic water companies in the UK.

Take part in this action here.

The recent State of Our Rivers Report from the Rivers Trust shows that our rivers are in crisis and facing toxic cocktails of pollution. The Environment Agency reported sewage spills into England's rivers and seas by water companies more than doubled last year (from 1.75 million hours in 2022 to 3.6 million hours in 2023). In English rivers, storm overflows contributed to at least 11% of total ecological health standard failures.

Here are some good hashtags you might want to use in your posts:

#DirtyWater

#TellTheTruth

#EndSewagePollution

#StopWaterPollution

#CutTheCrap

#ActNow

#CleanUpYourAct

#SaveOurRivers

#CleanWaterNOW

#UpgradeDemocracy

#HealOurWaters

#HealUKWaters

#HealthyWaterUK

#WaterCleanupUK

#HealthyWatersNow