Channel 4's Dirty Business Campaigners Call for Public to Stop Paying Water Bills Over Sewage Dumps
The group that has worked for many years to expose the illegal practices involving the dumping of untreated sewage by the water companies say we shouldn't be paying for services we aren't receiving.
Campaigners Suggest Withholding Payments
The campaigners involved in Channel 4's new series Dirty Business, about the decades of illegal sewage dumping being carried out by England's water companies, have suggested people stop paying their full water bill. The drama series is based on the painstaking work of former detective Ash Smith and his neighbour Peter Hammond, a university professor who have spent a decade digging into the behaviour of the water companies, with the help of whistleblowers.
They have discovered that data proving that raw sewage is being dumped into our waterways, in 2026, around 1600 times a day. Their data shows that Thames Water discharges raw sewage 63 times per day, which is illegal, but no executive has ever been arrested or held to account.
Legal Grounds for Non-Payment
Ash, from Oxfordshire, said that non-payment of part of the bill was an option for those who feel angry about the situation. "There is the argument, that's founded in good law, that if you're not getting the thing that you're paying for, why are you paying for it?" he explained. "You can pay the rest of your water bill but a lot of people are not paying that part of the bill."
He continued: "One of our team is doing this and it's very interesting to hear his experience. We know people who have not paid their bill for about four years and the water industry has written it off. They really don't want to challenge this, because they know that we're right. It's a powerful way to address it."
Support from Surfers Against Sewage
Giles Bristow, chief executive of Surfers Against Sewage, agreed that an increasing number of people have started questioning exactly what they are paying for - and refusing to pay the bit for the treatment of sewage. Speaking at a screening of Dirty Business last week, he encouraged people to challenge the water companies and their charges.
"Ask them - what does that part of the bill mean for me? What am I paying for? And if they can't give you the right answer - don't pay," Bristow urged. "And if you want to bring it on, raise another point. If you've got an active complaint or query with the water industry, they can't send the debt collectors."
He added: "I got several letters. I rang them up, they were very polite and I was very polite back. Have some fun! If 1000 people don't pay, crudely, £1000 for a year that's a million quid off their top line. And when you get uncomfortable - pay it. Then when the next bill comes, just start the whole process again. Be angry, but in a very nice way."
Systemic Failures and Calls for Renationalisation
With England's water companies owned by foreign banks and hedge funds situated in countries including Australia, Abu Dhabi and China, it is thought that around £80bn has been taken out of the system since privatisation in 1989. Viewers watching last night's first episode saw how the infrastructure since then has had little or no investment, and is crumbling and decrepit.
Ash and Peter - who say they are doing the job of that regulator the Environment Agency should be doing - are calling for the water companies, which were privatised in 1989 by Margaret Thatcher, to be re-nationalised. Giles agrees that this is the only way to sort out the longstanding problem, which sees thousands of people getting ill after swimming outdoors and even dying.
Julie Maughan's daughter, eight-year-old Heather Preen, contracted E.coli after being on the beach in 1999, along with many others that particular day. Her story is a key part of the drama. "There are, without a doubt, other Heathers out there," Giles said. "Every year we get about 2000 notifications of people getting seriously sick through swimming, surfing holidaying by our wild waters. That is just the tip of the iceberg, just from those who use our App."
Regulatory Capture and Profit Motives
"There is one duty on the regulator at the moment and that's to make a profit through the water companies. The system is rigged for profit from the top to the bottom," Bristow explained. "We could flip that. The duty has to be for the water companies, via the regulator, enshrined in law, to restore the environment and protect public health. If we do that, everything then changes and the water companies have to look after the environment and they have to look after us."
He continued: "Profit should come way down the list and should not be deliverable and dividend-able until we are restoring our rivers and keeping people safe." He feels that the current system is rigged against people being able to hold the water companies to account. "You have to prove that it's the fault of the water company, there is no assumption that if you were swimming in the river that it's the fault of the river having a sewage release. They'll say its restaurants, an E.coli breakout, there's all sorts of things. So it's very difficult to prove but there's no doubt that those cases exist."
Creative Response and Public Awareness
Writer and director Joe Bullman is hoping that this drama might just do for water pollution what Mr Bates did for the Horizon IT scandal and is also calling for huge change. "This needs to come under public ownership, no question. It's our industry, we pay the bills, those people work for us. Maggie's big sell off hasn't worked."
Channel 4 yesterday unveiled a Fountain of Filth on London's South Bank to promote its hard-hitting new drama Dirty Business. The 10-metre wide installation has been designed to draw attention to the heartbreaking human cost of Britain's sewage scandal, which is a key theme of the new series.
It features statues of men, women, and children as they appear to vomit murky brown water in a bid to reflect the real experiences suffered by those made ill by exposure to waterways polluted with untreated sewage. The statues are inspired by real human stories, with ex-national surfing champion Sophie Hellyer, and prominent outdoor swimming journalist and guide Ella Foote among those featured.
Representing the water companies, who put profit ahead of public safety, stands a suited business executive with pockets and a briefcase brimming with cash. Channel 4 head of marketing Nic Moran said: "The sick truth about Britain's sewage scandal is hiding in plain sight and our marketing campaign for Dirty Business makes it impossible to ignore. We have put the human cost at the forefront and told the real stories behind the public health crisis."
The series, starring Jason Watkins and David Thewlis, is based on a decade-long investigation into England's water companies, and tells the real stories of whistleblowers and victims who believe their lives have been destroyed after encountering sewage polluted water.
