Hand painted petition at Rights of the River Cam festival

Julie Kavanagh, Anne Rivington and Charlotte Rivington designed some colourful hand painted visual petition sheets on which people attending the Rights of the River event wrote personal messages, addressed to Daniel Zeicnher, Cambridge MP. The petition describes concern over high levels of illegal sewage dumping and expresses no confidence in the ability of Anglian Water and Cambridge Water to address the issues which their mismanagement has contributed to and calls for water to be brought back into public ownership.

Over 100 people wrote personal messages to the MP explaining why a clean water system was an urgent matter to them.  Comments included  “I don’t feel safe to swim in the river” “Treat the Cam like the local treasure it is” “We are very worried about the loss of valuable chalk streams, a rare habitat ” “Cambridge is named after our river – it’s our city’s heart”

Mr Zeichner was invited to attend the river rights event, but was unable to, nor was he able to meet the artists in person to view the art work and comments, so the petition sheets have been sent to him at the House of Commons. Julie, Anne and Charlotte have received this response:

Dear Julie, Anne and Charlotte,

Thank you for sending me the picture petition following this year's Rights of the River Festival.

I can confirm that it has arrived safely, and I am grateful to everyone who took the time to contribute their messages. The artwork is a powerful reminder of the strength of feeling locally about the health of the River Cam and the wider challenges facing our rivers.

Protecting our waterways is an issue I take very seriously. I share many of the concerns that have been raised about sewage pollution, water quality and the need to ensure that future development is supported by sustainable water resources. These are matters I continue to raise with Ministers on behalf of constituents.

Thank you again for getting in touch and for all that Friends of the Cam does to champion our local rivers.

Best wishes,
Daniel

We look forward to seeing positive result of the concerns Daniel Zeichner raises with Ministers. (The Cam at Sheep's Green remains in officially 'poor' condition, two years after being designated as a bathing area.)