A water bill boycotter who has refused to pay Thames Water for over two years due to sewage spills has said a recent pollution report has vindicated his campaign.
England’s water company ratings dropped to their lowest level on record after sewage pollution last year hit a new high, the Environment Agency (EA) report found, with eight of nine water companies rated as poor and needing improvement.
Since 2011, the EA has rated each company in England from one to four stars, to highlight where improvement in performance is required. Collectively, the companies received 19 stars out of a possible 36 – the lowest since 2011.
Paul Kaufman, 68, of east London, who has been boycotting the wastewater component of his Thames Water bill since May 2023 in protest over sewage spills, said he “felt vindicated” by the EA’s findings.
“It’s the same outrageous behaviour, but it just gets worse,” Kaufman, who founded the Boycott Thames Water campaign group, told The i Paper.
