Scores of campaigners have called on Southern Water to decrease the amount of sewage it dumps into the River Itchen in a protest on the Cobden Bridge today.

Led by activists from Surfers Against Sewage, around 40 protestors gathered on the bridge over the River Itchen to protest against sewage pollution, saying it affects swimmers, rowers and native species.

Councillors, members of the public, and a candidate at next week's election were in attendance.

Supported by a campaign bus highlighting statistics showing there were 604,833 sewage discharges across the UK in 2023, Labour's Parliamentary candidate for Southampton Test, Satvir Kaur, told the Echo: “Sewage in our waters, particularly in Southampton, is such a big issue.

“People want to have clean waters and they want to swim in our waters – people are losing their livelihoods because they can’t fish.”

The former leader of Southampton City Council also took aim at Southern Water, which she said “are one of the worst water companies in the country when it comes to the issues of spillages in our waters and not looking after our environment”.

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Labour candidate for Southampton Test Satvir Kaur and Surfers Against Sewage member Gavin Millar (Image: Matt Davey)

Cllr John Savage also attended the protest, and echoed the words of the former council leader.

He told the Echo: “There’s a real problem with the river here.

“Portswood Wastewater Treatment Works dumps huge levels of E. coli as part of the normal treatment of the water, so I’ve been campaigning against Southern Water to try to make sure we put additional investment in.”

Tim Paintman joined campaigners having repeatedly noticed pollution flowing down the River Itchen with his 10-year-old son on regular walks in Saltmead.

Tim Paintman joined the protest on Wednesday (Image: Matt Davey)

He said: “My son loves wildlife so we often walk by the river, and you can see pollution coming down the Itchen.

“Southern Water are terrible neighbours with smells, we know it’s a national issue but we’re still keen to keep the pressure on them because it’s not acceptable.”

Dani Jordan, director of campaigns and communities at Surfers Against Sewage, added: “We’ve been speaking to campaigners, trying to improve the water quality where they swim.

“We need the next government to take decisive action and make real change – ending sewage pollution in our rivers.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Southern Water said: “We want to play our part in protecting the River Itchen and improving the environment in this area, which is why we’re spending more than £8m in improving the site.

“This includes building a new storm tank and changing the way the site operates through installing another level of treatment, which will help issues relating to odour and water quality.”