Windermere pollution: “A national disgrace”

Windermere has once again been in the news for the wrong reasons, after the Observer, working with Professor Peter Hammond, reported their analysis that United Utilities allegedly discharged illegally into Windermere on more than 500 days from 2018 to 2023.  This analysis is based on data obtained by campaign groups Save Windermere and Windrush Against Sewage Pollution.

The Observer also reports that United Utilities has failed to hand over monitoring data from its sewage treatment works relating to phosphorus, ammonia, and turbidity (the cloudiness of the water), claiming that this data does not constitute environmental information. It has appealed the decision of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), who ruled that there was a public interest in its disclosing the data.

Save Windermere has been campaigning for greater transparency of data and in particular for a reform of current measurement practices by implementing precise monitoring of effluent at sewage outfalls, both treated and untreated, to measure nutrient levels and sewage volume.

As we have stated previously, sewage is high in the nutrient phosphorus. When sewage is discharged into a body of water like a lake, the phosphorus it contains can cause the rapid growth of algae along the water’s surface. These ‘algal blooms’ prevent sunlight from penetrating the water and strip it of oxygen, harming its entire ecology. Phosphorus can also cause the growth of blue-green algae, which can be harmful to both humans and animals. 

November has once again seen algal blooms spread across much of the lake, despite the fact that blooms are uncommon during the colder seasons.  

As noted by the Observer, local residents are becoming increasingly dismayed by the “national disgrace” of pollution in Windermere. Speaking this month at the historic March for Clean Water, where roughly 15,000 people gathered in London to voice their anger over the health of the UK’s waterways, Matt Staniek emphasised that “Windermere is the symbol of what is happening across this entire nation”. 

Leigh Day believes in the need for clean waters nationwide and is already taking action to hold alleged polluters to account. In Exmouth, we are representing residents and businesses for the alleged harm they have suffered as a result of sewage pollution of bathing waters allegedly caused by South West Water. In the Wye Valley, we are representing residents and businesses for the alleged harm they have suffered from algal blooms as a result of pollution allegedly caused by industrial agri-farming.

Now, Leigh Day is investigating potential legal action over the alleged impact of sewage released into Windermere.

We have been collaborating with Save Windermere to better understand the alleged impact of sewage pollution, and to explore the potential avenues for the law to give a voice to the local community. On a recent visit to the lake, we saw first-hand the devastating effect of algal blooms on the ecology of the lake.  At Cunsey Beck, Matt described the devastation caused during the mass fish kill in 2022.

If you have been affected by sewage discharges in Windermere and would like to speak with a member of our environmental team, please contact us at windermerepollution@leighday.co.uk