In pictures: Protest from Lewes District residents boycotting payments to Southern Water

They gathered for a protest at Splash Point in Seaford, August 6. The campaigners, both individuals and members of groups such as Friends of Seaford Bay and Lewes and Ouse Valley Extinction Rebellion, aim to spread the word about the boycott which involves citizens withholding payment for the sewage treatment and wastewater part of their water bills.

Jo Rigby, a campaigner who lives in Seaford, said: “We are going to withhold our payments until Southern Water provide the service they are billing us for – the safe treatment and disposal of our waste water. Raw sewage entered rivers and seas in England and Wales 825 times a day last year which is totally unacceptable and unnecessary."

Data collected by Surfers Against Sewage last November shows that sewage is regularly being discharged into rivers and the sea even when there has been no rainfall. They consider Southern Water to be the worst offender in relation to these so called ‘dry spills’.

According to Southern Water, storm overflows normally take place to prevent flooding during prolonged or intense rain.  Dry spills are not automatically unconsented and can occur for a variety of reasons, such as: groundwater infiltration, a long drainage time after rainfall, a failure or an emergency situation.

Jo added: "As customers of a monopoly we can’t take our business elsewhere. What else can we do except stop paying for the wastewater treatment part of our bills? Despite a £90 million fine in 2021 for deliberately pouring billions of litres of sewage into the sea, Southern Water are showing no signs of changing. Why pay for a service we're not getting? Enough is enough.”

Data released by the Environment Agency show Southern Water discharged sewage into waterways 16,668 times in 2022 – lasting a total of 146,819 hours.

The campaign against Southern Water is part of a wider national move to withhold or delay their payments for sewage treatment and disposal in protest, with increasing numbers in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Devon, Lancashire and Yorkshire taking part. The website www.boycottwaterbills.com gives participants guidance on how to inform the water company of their intention not to pay.

This boycott comes as part of Dirty Water, an England-wide anti sewage campaign originating with Extinction Rebellion which has gained widespread support in recent months.

A Southern Water spokesperson said: “We understand our customers’ concerns about use of storm overflows and we share their desire to reduce their use. Storm overflows predominantly happen during and following prolonged periods of rainfall when our combined sewer system is infiltrated by significant amounts of surface or ground water.

"When our pipes are overloaded and we cannot treat flows fast enough, releases made up of up to 95 per cent rainwater then happen, in line with Environment Agency permits, to avoid homes and communities being flooded.

“Whilst this is how the system is designed to work, we are working hard to improve the network. This is going to take time, and largescale investment, to roll out innovative engineering and nature-based solutions but we are committed to this change and are keen to work closely with our communities during this effort.”