A water quality campaigner has created a community interest company to turn concerns over the future of Windermere into immediate action.
Windermere Lake Recovery CIC has now been registered as a non-profit making organisation.
The move by Matt Staniek, who launched his campaign last year, marks a switch from raising the issue of water quality into positively saving the ecology and wildlife of England’s largest lake for future generations.
He has already established that water company practices, including discharges of sewage during storms, household misuse of sewerage and farmer run-off are the main causes of pollution.
The creation of phosphorous, which he claims is now virtually an all-year-round problem in the lake, is feeding algae which stifles animal and vegetable organisms that give Windermere its unique biodiversity.
Matt launched a petition urging action on pollution last year which now has about 110,000 signatures.
“After reaching 100,000 signatures on the online petition, it was more than clear that people wanted Windermere to be free from pollution,” said Matt.
“Forming the Windermere Lake Recovery CIC will enable work to be completed that will address the community’s growing concerns over the destruction/ecological degradation of Windermere.”
Windermere Lake Recovery CIC will work directly with landowners, farmers and other relevant organisations, like the Environment Agency and the National Trust, to implement various ecological changes that will directly improve water quality.
To reduce diffuse agricultural run-off – which South Cumbria Rivers Trust estimated to be 30 per cent of the phosphorus input into Windermere – Matt will work with farmers to restore hay meadows, install riparian buffer strips along rivers, create constructed wetlands, plant trees, install fences to allow stock exclusion and other habitat improvements.
“By working on land in the catchment to implement these natural solutions to water quality pressures, it will not only allow nature recovery but also reduce the impact of future flood events and reduce ongoing phosphorus pollution,” he added.
“Windermere Lake Recovery CIC differs from commercial companies in that it is driven by the concern of the local community to address the worsening water quality.
“It has been identified that the decline of Windermere is not only a threat to human health but also to local livelihoods.
“Windermere Lake Recovery CIC will help larger organisations, such as the Lake District National Park Authority, to connect with the local community to address how individuals can play their part in reducing their phosphorus input into the lake.”
The CIC will lead practical projects, deliver public information and education through social media and create stand-alone films.
Individual household habits are responsible for 35 per cent of the phosphorus input into Windermere, South Cumbria Rivers Trust said.
“Reducing this will put us a step closer to reach the ultimate goal, a Windermere free from phosphorus pollution with a plethora of biodiversity.
“This is also a unique opportunity as it will benefit the transient tourist industry that the local economy relies on in the Windermere catchment,” he said.
The CIC will be able to apply for community-focused grant funding, which is not always possible for commercial companies.
“It is also providing a service that may not be financially attractive to commercial companies but by achieving a reduction in phosphorus pollution, will provide a great return to our community,” Matt added.
“I want the CIC to be a body that is able to implement immediate improvements to the Windermere catchment.
“I want the CIC to outlive my involvement in it and to be a vehicle for people in the Lake District to voice their concerns over water quality into the future,” he adds.
Matt, 27, studied at Myerscough College and Salford University, where he gained a degree in zoology.
He has engaged with partners like South Cumbria Rivers Trust, for whom he worked as a volunteer, and the Freshwater Biological Association.
The trust provided Matt with statistics which showed just how bad the problem had become.
The trust produced a map showing that there had been 1,719 legally permitted storm overflow discharges from sewage treatment works into Windermere in 2020.
Phosphate spikes that have been recorded are 10 times worse than 2019, when it was downgraded from official designation of good to moderate.
United Utilities stressed it had spent £40 million upgrading treatment works in Windermere catchment area and claims that just five per cent of its discharge was untreated sewage.
Matt wants the authorities is to come up with a target date by which time all pollution is removed from the lake.
“It could be a 10-year plan or a 25-year plan, but there must be a target date by when Windermere is ecologically healthy.
“We need a definition of what that is going to look like and by when we are going to get there.
“Then if Windermere is the first place in the country where water quality is restored then that can be used as a pilot to roll out everywhere.”
To donate to Matt’s campaign, go to crowdfunder.co.uk/p/Windermere-lake-recovery
