'Sewage isn't being dealt with, so I've stopped paying my bill' says Weymouth campaigner
It's part of Extinction Rebellion's 'Don't Pay for Dirty Water' campaign
Last updated 16th Nov 2023
More than 200 people from Dorset are refusing to pay part of their water bill to force water companies to stop discharging raw sewage into local rivers and seas.
It’s part of Extinction Rebellion’s “Don't Pay for Dirty Water” campaign which calls on the government along with water companies to fast-track infrastructure upgrades within sewage treatment works.
Caz Dennett, one of the boycotters from Weymouth, told us she hasn’t paid her water bill for 33 weeks.
She said: “I was in the middle of campaigning, and I just thought, ‘You know what, I'm not going to pay part of my water bill and see what happens,” almost eight months later and “nothing has happened.”
“I wrote to Wessex Water and told them I was intentionally not paying, and it turns out you can do this while you’re making a formal complaint.”
Now, members of Extinction Rebellion are urging people to join them in a bid to put pressure on water companies.
Caz said: “Unfortunately, money is the only language these companies understand, and we think if enough people do this, it will send a powerful message.”
"It is a total rip-off to keep paying for a service you aren't getting. Enough is enough. The sewage isn't being dealt with properly, so I've stopped paying for that part of my bill."
A UK Environmental Audit Committee report states that "a ‘chemical cocktail’ of sewage, agricultural waste, plastic and persistent chemicals is polluting rivers."
A Wessex Water spokesperson responded: “Wessex Water does not dump sewage or poison waterways. Sewage is treated at regulated water recycling centres and storm overflows are licensed by the Environment Agency.”
They added: “We’re committed to reducing how often overflows operate and are currently investing more than £3 million every month on schemes to improve them.”
Although, according to an Oxford University study, the targets of the 2022 report are unlikely to be met by current company policies and the regulator, Ofwat.