A former civil servant who was hospitalised after inhaling fumes from a ‘leaking sewage pipe’ that forced her out of her home for four years has slammed water companies for a huge bill increase.
Julie Houldershaw, 51, and her mother, 77, abandoned their three-bedroom house in Gosberton, Lincolnshire, after the stench of sewage became unbearable.
The water watchdog Ofwat sparked fury last week after caving to demands to hammer homeowners with price increases as high as 53 per cent over the next five years.
The average homeowner will see a jump in their bills of around £86 next year, rising higher to adjust for inflation.
Ofwat claimed the extra cash will fund investment in stopping sewage pollution in waterways.
Incredibly, water companies claimed the public would welcome paying them more to help fix the creaking sewage system they are supposed to maintain.
Unsurprisingly, those at the frontline of Britain’s broken sewage system say it’s the final kick in the teeth after years of pain caused by inept water companies and weak local and national governance.
Julie told : ‘The price hike makes me really cross. Poor people have got to find this extra money and they are not even getting the service.
‘We are getting walked all over. They are polluting our homes, our rivers and our country. That can’t be right. It really can’t.
‘The water companies are taking us for a ride. I’m not very impressed with them at all. It’s going to bite us someday. I get so frustrated with them.
‘The government needs to do something. No one in their right minds would keep them.’
She believes the rancid smell in her home came from a leaking emergency overflow pipe in front of the house.
For the past four years, she has shared a caravan with her mother at the back of their home to avoid the stench.
She said: ‘It’s a funny smell. It’s like all these detergents and bleaches, greywater.
‘We were exposed to such a high level of it. We ended up at the hospital because the fumes were so bad.
‘It has been a real struggle. The health implications are unbelievable for people.
‘Mum suffers with allergies. All the back of her legs came up.
Julie said she has spent between £8,000 and £10,000 on specialist soil, water and plant tests to determine what the issue was.
After four years, Lincolnshire County Council has finally fixed the pipe – although Julie had to install a special valve to stop the smell herself, which costed £800.
Julie added: ‘These sewage pipes link with all our drainage. Someone should know about it and how it works.
‘The water companies are in such a strong position, it’s like they think they can get away with it.
‘I hope the government for once can do what’s right for the people but I don’t think they care to be honest.
‘I really think everything needs to change to get the country back to where it should be.
‘We are supposed to be a developed country. It’s sad.
‘Mum is 77 now. I don’t want to move her back in if we have to move back out.’
Julie and her mother plan to move back into the house at the end of this year.
She doesn’t have much faith in the water companies but hopes the nightmare is finally coming to an end.
‘Everybody is in a cost-of-living crisis but we are paying for a service that we are not getting,’ she said.
‘It’s almost like they are saying, ”We don’t care.”
‘I think we need to bring them back into public ownership.
‘We just don’t seem to have a can-do attitude.
‘There’s no honour or integrity any more. We can’t go on like this.
‘I just hope we can get our lives back to normal.’
A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food & and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: ‘After years of failure, we are left with record sewage spills and crumbling water infrastructure.
‘For too long, customers’ money has been spent on unjustified bonuses and shareholder payouts, rather than investing on upgrades.
‘The Government will ringfence money earmarked for investment so it can only be spent on infrastructure upgrades, not bonuses and shareholder payouts.
‘We will clean up our rivers, lakes and seas and build the reservoirs needed to unlock the new homes set out in our Plan for Change.’
An Environment Agency spokesperson previously said: ‘Emergency overflow permits only operate in urgent circumstances to prevent environmental damage or harm to the public and action is taken to ensure these are allocated appropriately.’
The Environment Agency said people can report environmental incidents to their incident hotline number 0800 807060.
It added issues regarding public health and safety should be raised with the local authority.
Richard Fenwick, head of highways assets at Lincolnshire County Council, said: ‘We have cleaned out and done some repairs to our surface water drains in Gosberton this year, most recently in November.
‘Our drains take rainwater off the road. The county council is not responsible for foul water drainage and any issues with the sewer system in this area would be a matter for Anglian Water.’
has contacted Ofwat, and Water UK for comment.
Anglian Water refused to comment.