Tests are being conducted at England’s largest lake. This comes after an independent BBC investigation discovered that millions of liters of sewage were illegally pumped into it.
Lake Windermere is a Unesco World Heritage Site, and water management companies are prohibited from allowing sewage to spill over into the body of water during dry spells. Yet, this appears to have happened at the protected site several months ago.
Where Is Windermere?
Located in the beautiful Lake District in the county of Cumbria, Windermere is the largest lake in England.
The region is full of history and is popular amongst both foreign and nationalist tourists who come to partake in water sports such as canoeing and swimming. However, the lake has been experiencing several problems in recent years.
Algae Problems at the Lake
In recent years, Windermere has been experiencing an overgrowth of algae, which has resulted in a green lake during summer.
While algae are natural and develop in most lakes around the world, an overgrowth can begin to negatively affect the animals and plants living in and around the water as they feed on the nutrients in the water. Generally, people are advised to refrain from swimming in algae-infested waters.
Raw Sewage Pumped Into Protected Lake
The algae isn’t the worst of the lake’s problems, however. According to a report from the British public service broadcaster BBC, on February 28, millions of liters of untreated sewage were pumped into the lake for more than 10 hours.
Those responsible for the mishap claim there was a communications error between a wastewater treatment center and a sewage pumping station.
Illegal Dumping of Sewage in UNESCO Lake
As it wasn’t a period of heavy rainfall, no water treatment company was permitted to pump sewage into the lake.
Yet, on this day at the end of February, an unprecedented amount of untreated sewage, including human feces, urine, and anything else that goes down the toilets in this part of Britain, was pumped into the lake.
The Company Withheld Information for Several Hours
United Utilities is the company in charge of ensuring that the water is treated before being pumped into the lake. Should there be a leak like the one that occurred in February, they’re supposed to inform the Environmental Agency immediately.
However, during their investigation, the BBC discovered that United Utilities refrained from informing the Environmental Agency for 13 hours after the pumping initially began.
United Utilities Claims They Took Urgent Steps to Resolve the Problem
The Environment Agency permits a small amount of sewage to be released into waterways during periods of heavy rain to prevent water from backing up through plugholes or toilets.
However, on this occasion, there was no heavy rain. According to a spokesperson from United Utilities, the event was a mistake, and, “As soon as we discovered this fault – our engineers took urgent steps to resolve the situation.”
Water Samples Taken From Nearby Village
Following the leak into Windermere Lake, United Utilities claims they took samples near where the spillage occurred.
When the company received the results, they announced that the sewage had little to no impact on the lake. However, the initial sample was taken from the shore of the lake four hours after the spillage, while the majority of the sewage was released into the middle of the body of water.
Save Windermere
Matt Staniek, from the campaign group Save Windermere, spoke about the recent spillage, claiming that it has happened on numerous occasions.
“Time and time again, the same thing keeps happening here in Windermere: United Utilities pollutes the lake, and the Environment Agency turns a blind eye to it,” said Staniek.
A Thorough Investigation Is Underway
According to a spokesperson from the Environment Agency, they are currently investigating the sewage reports and are currently taking their own samples of the lake water to test. Then, they will determine whether the company is liable for any damages.
They said the agency is conducting “a thorough investigation into the incident” and that if any of the water companies in the region break the law, they will ensure that “appropriate enforcement” occurs.
Another Spill in 2022
In 2022, another spill was reported at the lake, this time involving an excessive amount of sewage pumped into the water.
According to the Cumbria Wildlife Trust, “raw sewage was dumped into Windermere for around 5,904 hours over a period of 246 days in 2022.” This event also increased the level of phosphorus in the lake by around 5%.
$50 Million Investment
While phosphorus is essential for all living organisms, too much can ultimately become a pollutant, which appears to be the case at Lake Windermere. It is important to note that United Utilities made a £40 million (around $50.9 million USD) investment to reduce the level of phosphorus coming from its water treatment plants.
United Utilities reports that it has “halved the amount of phosphorus entering the lake from our sites since 2015 and is taking steps to bring this down further. On top of the additional £19m investment to be spent over the next two years.”
