A water company discharges sewage into a river with impunity and the government fails to stop them. The story may sound familiar, but this one is different: there’s a satisfying comeuppance all round.
The ongoing saga of sewage being pumped into the Thames has inspired a new YA (young adult) novel, Floaters – and when its limited first edition is published later this month, 50% of all profits will go to the conservation and campaign charity Surfers Against Sewage (SAS).
Described as a “coming-of-age revenge caper”, Floaters follows a group of teenagers who find their favourite swimming spot has been compromised by oozing sewage, and is based on the author’s own experiences.
Craig Taylor, writing as C M Taylor, and his two daughters regularly canoe along the Thames. They used to swim, too, in the stretch near their Oxfordshire home, but they stopped when they discovered how frequently sewage was being dumped into the water. “There’s a very active environmental network doing citizen science in our area and that’s really helped educate us about the declining water quality,” said Taylor.
The book’s initial run of 215 copies will raise funds for SAS in a year the campaign group calls a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to positively influence the UK’s water quality.
“It just seemed a cute conceit to restrict the number of copies to 215, one for each mile of the river,” said Taylor. “Although there are ongoing fights about where the source of the Thames is, so I’m sure some purists will argue that it’s actually 218 miles long.”
In July the water reform bill will be introduced in parliament, and other government consultations on bathing water regulations, environmental offence sanctions and river basin management plans are taking place.
Taylor’s book reflects on how the polluting actions of UK water companies – and the executive bonuses that continue in spite of them – are increasingly seeping into popular culture.
Two years ago, the Channel 4 documentary Joe Lycett vs Sewage saw the comedian take on the issue, and from 23 February, the broadcaster will air Dirty Business, a new three-part TV drama telling the true-life story of pollution and cover-up by England’s water companies.
Just as ITV’s Bafta-winning Mr Bates vs the Post Office revived public interest in the Post Office scandal in 2024 and led a breakthrough moment in the continued fight for justice, this year clean water campaigners will be hoping for a similar turn in the tide.
“I’ve been thinking about sewage for a long time and I’ve been wanting to write something set on a river,” said Taylor. “And I love capers – there are lots of stories that are heists, but there are not enough capers.”
