Julie Wassmer (right) with sewage protester Hayley Yoga
The Boycott Water Bills co-founder faces Southern Water/South East Water in court in Canterbury – MONDAY 9 FEBRUARY 2026
After a four year payment boycott of her water bill, Whitstable author and Boycott Water Bills co-founder Julie Wassmer will be facing off against criminal polluter Southern Water’s unacceptable waste water service in a court action brought against her by their “billing agent”, South East Water, in Canterbury County Court on Monday 9 February 2026.
You are ALL invited to join water campaigners from Kent and Sussex who will be there on the day to show support for Julie, who will be representing herself, and her husband, Kas, as she makes the case for ALL water consumers’ rights.
Julie says: “I refuse to be intimidated or cowed into compliance by court action for payment to a water company like Southern Water which has shown itself to be a serious serial offender regarding sewage pollution. After four years of boycotting payment I look forward to raising more awareness of the wholly unacceptable service offered to consumers by our local water companies and highlighting how such companies are evading responsibility for poor service via a selective use of the Water Industry Act 1991.”
Julie’s defence maintains that Southern Water continues to pollute our local environment at a level well above those which might reasonably be expected of a responsible sewerage undertaker, citing that as recently as November 2025, ”catastrophic” pollution incidents involving the discharge of toxic “beads” on to beaches in both Sussex and Kent show that no substantial improvements to service have been made by Southern Water.
She explains: “We as customers can exercise no consumer choice by going to another company as Southern Water is the monopoly waste water service provider in Kent – as is South East Water for water provision – and regarding unacceptable service for the latter, this month during a “major incident”, South East Water left tens of thousands of customers without water, prompting Kent MPs to demand action in Parliament. Helen Grant, MP for Maidstone, stated the following:
“South East Water is failing at every level. How can anyone be reasonably expected to pay their water bills, let along accept yet more price rises, when the company repeatedly fails to meet the most basic standards of service?’”
How indeed?
Julie says: “This is why in 2021, after Southern Water received a record criminal fine of £90 million in respect of 6,971 illegal sewerage discharges, I began withholding payment for the waste water element of my water bills and teamed up with Hastings campaigner, Katy Colley, to offer advice to fellow consumers and boycotters via our website www.boycottwaterbills.com.
“We soon became aware that we had payment boycott action in all eleven waste water areas and our campaign went on to jointly receive the Best Consumer Campaign Award of 2025 from the Sheila McCechnie Foundation, along with Extinction Rebellion’s ‘Don’t Pay for Dirty Water Campaign.”
The Foundation said: “The campaign has drawn widespread attention across UK media, making national headlines and major TV public interest programmes. Awareness surged in the lead-up to the 2024 general election. Voters pressed candidates to act on sewage pollution and water bills. On his first day, newly appointed Secretary of State for Environment Steve Reid announced that improving water company performance would be a government priority. Fuelled by anger and frustration, thousands of customers have taken a simple but powerful action – stopping payments. The boycott has disrupted cash flow to water companies, amplified public pressure, and signalled that systemic change is necessary and inevitable.
“Many participants have successfully withheld payments for 12–48 months without legal action. Water companies are not allowed to cut off most domestic households. Those who have tested the legal system through Small Claims or County Court have exposed the Water Industry Act 1991 as wholly unfit for purpose, offering virtually no redress for customers, even in the face of raw sewage discharges. These insights and experiences now fuel the campaign’s next phase: deepening its reach, escalating its demands on water companies and the Government, and building alliances with those that do have the power to challenge the system from within.”
Julie says, “The law must be changed to protect the consumer, not the companies, and we must continue to make our case when and wherever we can. Mine will be made in court on February 9th 2026. Join me!“
Please join Julie in a pre-hearing protest from 9.15 am on Monday 9th February outside Canterbury County Court, The Law Courts, Canterbury Kent CT1 1ZA with home-made placards and banners. The court hearing for Claim M4CP98T6 is due to begin at 10 am.
More on Julie’s Fight – See this article in The Times:
To follow Julie’s fight, friend her on Facebook or follow her on Instagram.
Background to Julie’s Four Year Bill Boycott Here in Community Ad Magazine. Read article here:
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