A Cumbrian MP has called for people to support a petition to clean up Windermere.
Local activist Matt Staniek launched the petition to save Windermere from sewage discharges.
He released images and videos earlier this week, claiming the lake was dying.
The images show large blooms of blue-green algae which have appeared as a result of the hot, dry weather and sewage discharges into the lake and its tributaries by United Utilities and others.
Tim Farron, Westmorland and Lonsdale MP, urged people to sign the petition Matt set up earlier this year to help save the lake. So far, it has had 136,261 signatures.
He said: “It is really heart-breaking to see the quality of this country’s most famous lake put at risk due to inaction from water companies and the Government in regulating sewage discharges.”
It is thought that there are over 1,900 septic tanks surrounding the lake which are currently largely unregulated.
There are also multiple water treatment sites, mainly owned and managed by United Utilities, that surround the lake.
In March, the Government issued a consultation paper on the Storm Overflow Discharge Reduction Plan.
No results from that consultation, or the reduction plan, have been released by the Government, said Mr Farron, so he has submitted a question to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Minister Tamara Finkelstein to ask where these plans are.
He said: “We need year-round infrastructure investment for water treatment centres so that they are not so easily overwhelmed during wet weather, leading to sewage ending up in the lake.
“Improved storage tanks at each site would go a long way to solving the problem of sewage overflow into the lake during storms.
“This is a national scandal. The fact of the matter is that Windermere is not only a natural beauty and a place of vital species diversity, but a reservoir for drinking water for much of the North West of England.
“United Utilities are not investing enough of their colossal profits into improving the infrastructure around the lake, we cannot allow this to continue.”
United Utilities have been approached to comment and a spokesman for the Love Windermere partnership said: “Windermere is a very special place and we are determined to do everything possible to protect and improve it for generations to come.
“The lake is certainly not dying. It is however affected by a number of complex challenges including the impact of more extreme weather caused by climate change, an excess of nutrients and seasonal variations of the tourist population.
“We are committed to developing the most effective solutions to maintain and improve water quality in the lake, including collating more scientific evidence to better understand the particular pressures on Windermere to allow us to target more effectively our interventions.”
Mr Farron has urged people to sign the petition set up by Matt and to share it far and wide. You can sign the petition here.
