Glastonbury Festival organisers release stream pollution statement

Following up on the news that we reported (here), Glastonbury Festival organisers have today (Thursday 14th January) released an official statement concerning their court appearance today over a human sewage charge.

Organisers were charged that on or before June 29, 2014 at the Glastonbury Festival, otherwise than under, and to the extent authorised by an environmental permit, caused or knowingly permitted a water discharge activity or groundwater activity, namely the discharge of human sewage derived from the Glastonbury Music Festival.

Their statement, (here), says,

"Throughout its long history, Glastonbury Festival has fully and publicly committed to sustaining and improving the environment where the Festival takes place, alongside a policy of reducing the impact of the Festival’s 200,000 attendees on the wider environment, particularly in regard to emissions, discharges, vehicle movements and noise pollution.

The Festival has also worked closely with its major charity partners, Greenpeace, Oxfam and WaterAid, since the 1980s, to raise awareness of global environmental issues and highlight innovative and practical solutions.

Regretfully however, during the last two Festivals (in 2014 and 2015) some pollution has unintentionally made it into the stream running through the site, due to issues including a faulty tank and through Festival goers urinating on the land.

With the causes already identified and analysed, Glastonbury Festival continues to work with all stakeholders, including the Environment Agency, on ways to prevent and safeguard against any problems in the future.

Substantial improvement work on the site’s infrastructure has already begun and will continue over the coming months. At the same time, the Festival will again work rigorously with all of its contractors and staff to raise awareness of the environmental issues involved and the importance of preventing further incidents.

Working alongside our charitable partners, these important messages about protecting the land will also be shared with the Festival’s ticket holders as we continue our work to reduce the Festival’s impact on the environment."

The court case has not yet finished, it is expected to last a number of days, and the Festival is awaiting a decision on what court action will be made. It is known that in 2014 a tank sprung a leak in one of the joins between the steel plates and the base of the tank and for a few hours before the leak was detected, allowed a quantity of sewage to get into a farm ditch and from there into the Whitelake River which is home to brown trout, which have protected status.

The Festival uses three very large steel tanks, one of which is located on a nearby dairy farm, and the manufacturers expect a shelf life of the tank of around 50 years. This was a tank that had been in use for five years. The manufacturer has described the leak as a freak incident, and the other tanks which Glastonbury use have never had a problem.

Environmental experts are due to give evidence at that hearing, as well as the tank's manufacturer and installer.

Mr Eavis apologised for the incident outside court reports the Western Daily Press (here), and they quote him as saying, "We did something wrong, we had a faulty tank. Of course, I'm exceedingly sorry for what's happened. All that stuff in the river, you get thorough problems and we don't set out to affect the water quality of the river. We're on the opposite side of the debate – we're trying to save the environment, we're trying to protect all of the species – so obviously I'm very sorry for what's happened."

Festival goers must be aware that they are polluting Glastonbury's streams and ditches by urinating in hedges. It is important for Festival goers to remember that they should always use the facilities provided and not piss in the hedges, as this risks the chance of the Festival taking place so DON'T DO IT!

Glastonbury Festival will take place on 2,000 acres around a farm in Pilton, Somerset over five full days from Wednesday 23rd until Sunday 27th June 2016. As ever, entry includes a free programme. Once again, the Festival will be raising more than £2 million in funds for Oxfam, Wateraid, Greenpeace and a host of local charities and causes.

Tickets for Glastonbury Festival have sold out. There will be a re-sale, which is likely to be in April or May 2016. In order to buy a ticket Festival goers over the age of 12 must be registered, with online registration only taking a few minutes, this needs to be completed before trying to buy a ticket. Children aged 12 and under do not require tickets and do not need to register.

Registration does not mean you have bought a ticket, but you can't buy a ticket without a registration number.

To register click here.

There are no acts confirmed yet for 2016. Expect something like 2,000 performances at over 100 venues including music, cabaret, theatre, circus, a fantastic Kidz area, poetry, green crafts and information, site art, decor, and loads, loads more ... much more than just the music, so make sure you check it all out!

As usual eFestivals will bring you the very best-sourced rumours, allowing festival-goers to see who is playing long before the bands are formally announced - keep your eyes on the Glastonbury 2016 rumours, updated as we receive information.

Help us to help you - if you hear of a band that's playing, please let us know.

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