BORDON pensioner Keith Potter was shocked when he received his latest wastewater (sewage) bill and found his payments had doubled since last year, and were set to treble by 2020.

It will, he said, be the same for other residents in the Whitehill and Bordon area because Thames Water, which provides the sewage service, wants to raise money for the Thames Tideway Tunnel, dubbed London’s “super sewer”.

In a leaflet sent out with this quarter’s bill, Thames Water admits wastewater charges have increased by around 11 per cent to help with early work on the tunnel, planned to solve the problem of millions of tonnes of sewerage overflowing into the River Thames each year.

It is the biggest investment a water company has made since the 1850s, replacing much of the Victorian sewage pipe system.

Thames Water, he said, had admitted that costs will be raised through customers’ wastewater bills, but when the tunnel is built it will stop the overflow of sewage for the next 100 years.

As a result £7 of the average bill is associated with the project.

Also, the later stages of construction will require a further increase in charges, he believes, which would force his sewage bill up even further.

But in its defence, Thames Water said its current wastewater charges were the lowest in the UK and, added a spokesman: “During the whole building period the costs of other aspects of our work are expected to come down, which will reduce the overall impact on bills.”

Mr Potter has seen his wastewater bill, for which he had a standing order, steadily rise this year.

He told the Bordon Herald: “First of all, last year, we all had to have water meters in Bordon whether we wanted them or not and at first our (wastewater) bill was £10 a month then £16, but by April this year it was £23 and in five years the company has told us it will be £34 a month.

“We didn’t even ask for a meter - they were compulsory. At first the charge was reasonable but now we are facing this 100 per cent rise and I don’t see why we should all be contributing to this tunnel as we aren’t any part of London or Thames Water?

“We started out getting our bills from Southern Water and now it is South East Water who provide our drinking water and they should also look after the wastewater (which Thames Water now looks after).”

Mr Potter did protest to Thames Water but, he said, the firm replied the Thames Tideway Tunnel was “vitally needed” and will be paid for by wastewater bills which will gradually rise so that by 2020 the average quarterly payment will be £34.

Not satisfied and angry that Bordon people are paying for a project that will only benefit London, Mr Potter, who has lived in Bordon with his wife Carol for 35 years, said he was thinking of approaching MP Damian Hinds to see if he can act to stop Thames Water putting up its charges. “After all what can we do? They have the monopoly unlike the electric and gas companies, we can’t go anywhere else for our water supply. I wanted to highlight this injustice as most people I have spoken to who got the leaflet about the tunnel and the rise in charges have thrown it away without reading it.”