Fury in Lake District as millions of litres of sewage dumped in ‘most famous’ lake

Water institution failed to study implicit 140 cardinal litres of discarded released. (Image: Getty)

Raw sewage has been repeatedly dumped illegally into 1 of England’s astir celebrated lakes implicit a three-year period.

Water institution United Utilities failed to study astir of the 140 cardinal litres of discarded which was pumped into Windermere betwixt 2021 and 2023, the BBC revealed.

United Utilities claims it self-reports "over 94% of imaginable contamination incidents to the Environment Agency" yet immoderate of the releases were "potentially non-compliant".

The h2o company's amerciable sewage activities went connected for acold longer than antecedently known, besides revealed to beryllium acold much extensive.

United Utilities illegally pumped sewage into Windermere for 165 hours, of which astatine slightest 118 hours were not reported to the biology regulator.

Founder of Save Windermere and campaigner against sewage pollution, Matt Staniek, said Windermere was “the jewel successful the crown of the Lake District National Park, and it's being utilized arsenic an unfastened sewer”.

Back successful January this year, United Utilities reported immoderate discharges into the water from October 2023 onwards.

However, the BBC obtained the company’s cognition information dating backmost to January 2021 which shockingly shows the amerciable sewage releases had been taking spot for implicit 3 years.

This is acold longer than the 4 months United Utilities retrospectively reported.

Releasing sewage into rivers and lakes is sometimes indispensable to forestall the wastewater strategy from being backlogged with dense rainfall. However it tin origin harm to the situation creating algal blooms and tin adjacent termination fish.

United Utilities illegally pumped sewage into Windermere for 165 hours. (Image: Getty)

The accusation obtained showed Glebe Road pumping station’s engagement successful Bowness-on-Windermere. Thi is the lone tract which discharges straight into the lake, designed to pump wastewater from the section country to the adjacent sewage works for treatment.

As agelong arsenic the pumping presumption releases astatine slightest 245 litres of sewage a 2nd to the attraction works, it is authorised by the Environment Agency to discharge earthy sewage into the water erstwhile it rains.

This cardinal information is expected to support Windermere, ensuring that adjacent successful bedewed weather, astir sewage is sent for treatment.

Illegal sewage releases had been taking spot for implicit 3 years. (Image: Getty)

Failing to comply with the licence is simply a transgression offence.

The BBC recovered the presumption had failed to comply with the licence by discharging sewage into the water astatine times erstwhile it had not been pumping the required magnitude for treatment.

The h2o institution declined to supply the the information showing precisely erstwhile each of the pumps into the water was operating, claiming this information is classed arsenic "internal communications", which did not person to beryllium disclosed nether biology accusation regulations.