The Government will announce today that it pledges to clean up Windermere.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed is visiting the Lake District and will set out the Government’s support for the long-term ambition of only rainwater entering England’s largest lake.
It comes ahead of a feasibility study – established by the Only Rainwater local coalition including United Utilities, the Environment Agency, Ofwat, Save Windermere, Love Windermere, the Lake District National Park Authority, and Westmorland and Furness Council.
The study will determine what would be needed to eliminate sewage discharges into the lake, drawing on successful examples and innovation from around the world to create a roadmap for delivery.
As a first step, the Government said it was working on new methods to reduce pollution from private sewage discharges into Windermere.
Along with new treatment plants and enhanced maintenance, the Government said it was supporting the delivery of First-Time Sewerage schemes which provide a mechanism for owners of septic tanks and package treatment works to request connection to the mains sewer under certain conditions.
It added: “This will be vital in consolidating the wastewater infrastructure in the catchment, enabling our long-term objective.”
The Environment Secretary will also reiterate his support for local action and regulation to protect and improve water quality, including 33 additional Environment Agency specialist officers in the region and a quadrupling of water company inspections.
Mr Reed said: “Windermere is a stunningly beautiful national treasure – but it’s being choked by unacceptable levels of sewage pollution.
“As part of our Plan for Change, the Government is committed to cleaning up this iconic lake.
“That is why we are working with a range of local groups and organisations to stop all sewage going into the lake and restore it to its natural beauty.”
Following approval by Ofwat last year, United Utilities are investing £200 million to upgrade nine wastewater treatment works at Windermere and reduce the spills from four storm overflows discharging into the lake to 10 per year by 2030, with upgrades to the remaining six storm overflows proposed for 2030-35.
Across the country, over £100 billion of private sector money will be invested into the water sector.
The Government said: “This vital investment is a good start – but in the face of climate change, we must go further and faster to protect precious natural assets like Windermere, which is why the Government is backing the ambition to eliminate sewage discharges into the lake.
“Windermere, part of the Lake District National Park UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is home to more than 14,000 people and its beautiful scenery, rare species and cultural heritage attract a further seven million visitors per year, generating £750 million for the local economy.
“The lake faces pollution from a range of sources including rural and urban land use, wastewater from United Utilities and private sewage treatment – issues that are being made worse by climate change.”
The Environment Secretary’s visit to Windermere is the first of seven visits that he and Water Minister Emma Hardy will make on a Things Can Only Get Cleaner tour this week, to see where investment in water infrastructure will underpin the building of new homes, create jobs and turbocharge local economies – a cornerstone of the government’s Plan for Change.
The Government also confirmed that locally led schemes to clean up waterways are set to receive up to £11m, with money based on water company fines and penalties ringfenced to deliver local water projects.
Applicants to the Water Restoration Fund, including some in the Lake District, will be notified today. Successful projects will begin this year and focus on improving the water environment in the same regions where the fines and penalties were issued.
Westmorland & Lonsdale MP Tim Farron said: “This is a fantastic victory for the long running campaign to clean up our beautiful Windermere lake.
“For too long firms like United Utilities have been destroying lakes and rivers with filthy sewage dumping – hitting human health, harming our precious environment and damaging the local tourism economy.
“Enough is enough. The Liberal Democrats will continue to hold the ministers’ feet to the fire to make sure they honour their promise and protect Windermere.“
However, it was criticised by the Save Windermere campaign group, which said because United Utilities measured the success of its storm overflow reduction efforts on the number of spill events rather than the total volume of sewage discharged, it failed to provide a rigorous assessment of the overall environmental impact.
It said data it had obtained revealed that there were still 6,327 hours of spills into the lake from six sites around it.
