THE Argus has rightly given wide coverage to the poor service from Southern Water and the way they have knowingly polluted the seawater around our coastal towns.

Billions of litres of raw sewage have been dumped into the sea. Despite a fine of £90 million this is still going on. It is dangerous for swimmers and fisheries and damaging to our tourist trade.

A quick glance at my water bill shows me their standing charge for fresh water is £13.67 and waste water is £35.72. Wastewater (sewage) is charged at 92.5 per cent of the volume of water supplied. They claim these costs are higher as treatment and disposal of wastewater cost more than supplying fresh water.

As they are obviously not treating the wastewater they dump in the sea, why are we being charged for this service?

The Liberal Democrats have urged the UK government to ban bonuses for water company bosses until sewage offences are stopped. The party's analysis showed firms in England have paid executives nearly £27 million in bonuses since 2020.These bonuses are undeserved given 1,000 sewage spills a day were recorded in 2021. The government has not backed the ban but said it was taking "urgent" action to curb sewage discharges.

Obviously the government has a different interpretation of the word "urgent" to the rest

of us. Customers should demand a rebate on their water bills for the untreated sewage dumped in the area served by Southern Water.

Frances Lindsay-Hills

Brighton and Hove Liberal Democrats