Plans to lower Crummock’s water level in a bid to return it to its ‘natural’ state have proven a hot topic in recent weeks.
United Utilities originally lodged plans in March to remove Crummock’s 100-year-old weir, which would reduce the water’s overall level by 1.35 metres, or 4.4ft.
The proposal came as part of wider plans by the water firm to return three of the Lake District’s waters back to their natural states after it stopped using them for public water supply in 2023.
But last week, over 30 wild swimmers gathered to protest the plans and over 7,000 people have signed a petition against them while over 270 people have also submitted letters of objection to the Lake District National Park Authority – which will make the final decision.
United Utilities has now asked the authority for an extension in the decision-making process so all involved parties – including the Environment Agency and protestors – are able to review the proposals in more depth.
So, what is it about the plans that has pushed people to protest? What do the plans involve, what does it mean to return a water body to its natural state and what would a lowered water mean for visitors and lake users?
We’ve put together a no-nonsense Q&A to help break down exactly what is going on.
Why does United Utilities want to lower Crummock’s water level?
United Utilities initially lodged plans to alter Crummock’s water level in March.
The plans came as part of wider proposals to return three of the Lake District’s waters back to their natural states after the firm stopped using them for public water supply in 2023.
For over 120 years, Crummock was one of a handful of local bodies used to provide water to over 80,000 homes and businesses in and around the towns of Egremont, Cockermouth and Whitehaven.
But United Utilities said the risk to rare and protected wildlife, along with population growth, meant it had to find water sources other than Ennerdale Water, Crummock Water, Overwater and Chapelhouse Reservoir.
Rare and protected species living in these waters include freshwater pearl muscles and arctic char.
The water firm’s West Cumbria abstraction licences were permanently withdrawn in 2023 and water is now drawn from Thirlmere via the Thirlmere pipeline.
As Crummock – which is actually a reservoir – is no longer used as a drinking water source, United Utilities drew up plans that aim to re-naturalise Crummock, so that it no longer has to monitor it.
This would see all water abstraction equipment like the weir removed from the water.
It would also involve the lowering of Crummock’s water level by 1.35 metres, or 4.4ft, which is what the water firm has said would be its ‘natural level’.
But objectors and protestors are claiming Crummock’s water level has only ever dropped by 2ft throughout its long history.
This would mean the water would drop to what protestors believe is an unnatural level.
Okay, so why can’t they just leave Crummock as it is?
Crummock is a reservoir – so as long as it has water abstraction equipment like the weir, it means someone must be legally responsible for monitoring it.
United Utilities said if it was to keep the weir and water abstraction equipment on site, it would require major repairs and upgrades which would need to be carried out by 2028 in order to comply with the Reservoir Safety Act 1975.
The water firm said the entire weir and wave wall would have to be replaced and the overflow system would have to be improved.
It added that it would involve significant construction that would impact water users, public access and the environment.
It also said that the weir would need to be monitored every 10 years and could require significant investment in the future.
United Utilities added that someone would have to take responsibility and ownership of the weir and that it believed re-naturalising Crummock was the most viable solution to reduce cost and flood risk, while supporting the environment.
The firm said for its current responsibility and future liability of Crummock to be released, it must permanently reduce the volume of the water to comply with the Reservoirs Act 1975.
Why are people protesting against the plans?
People objecting to the plans said they were worried the lowering of the water would devastate Crummock’s natural beauty and impact animal habitats, tourism and recreation.
They are also claiming Crummock’s water level has only ever dropped by 2ft throughout its history and that it would mean the water would drop to what protestors believe is an ‘unnatural’ level.
Campaign group Friends of Crummock also said it feared if the water level was lowered, it would expose a wide swathe of rocks, debris and mud, replacing the water’s popular gravel beaches.
Open Spaces Society, the UK’s oldest conservation charity, has also objected to the plans and has expressed concern that the lowering of Crummock could detrimentally affect the level of Buttermere.
It also flagged concerns around what a lowered water level would look like at Crummock and said the newly created lake shore margin could vary in width due to uneven ground and slopes beneath the water.
It added that some of the exposed shoreline could consist of dark stones, pebbles and grit derived from adjacent bed rocks that will not show as a bright white margin.
The charity also said that while it supported the idea of re-naturalisation, it was concerned the removal of the weir would result in an artificial, much reduced lake.
Friends of Crummock is calling for the flow of water to Crummock to be naturalised without removing the entire weir.
This would see Crummock undergo a process known as assisted recovery – which would involve keeping the weir and burying it within a new natural landscape – to return the water and river to its natural function while keeping the water level the same.
United Utilities has now asked the national park authority for an extension in the decision making process so all involved parties are able to review the proposals in more depth.
A United Utilities spokesman said: “Following recent feedback to the proposed work and after a productive meeting with the Friends of Crummock campaign group, we are taking the necessary time to address all the concerns and comments from all stakeholders before the application is reviewed at a future date by the Lake District National Park.”
What work would the current plans involve?
Under the proposed plans, work would include the full removal of the weir which would see Crummock’s water level drop by around 1.35 metres or 4.4ft.
It would also include the following:
- The removal of around 550 metres of the concrete wave wall
- Removing around 200 metres of the upstream concrete and block stone channel at Park Beck
- Reinstating the natural connection between the rivers and the lake to remove the need for man made fish/eel passes
- Existing stepped pedestrian footbridges would also be removed and new footbridge/s installed to provide continued access over the River Cocker
- Restoration of sections of the River Cocker and Park Beck
So, would United Utilities take Crummock back to its historical water level?
United Utilities has said lowering Crummock’s water level and its outfall to the River Cocker would restore it to what is believed to be the natural bed level.
It said that while historic information suggests the natural bed level is at the first timber weir crest level of 1879, when it was first installed, that this was not the actual bed level.
United Utilities said its intention was to return Crummock Water to its previous water level prior to the weir ever being installed.
United Utilities added that in order for its responsibility over Crummock to cease, the water level must be permanently lowered to natural ground level and the entirety of the existing water structure must be removed.
The bed would also have to be reinstated where necessary to reflect the natural bed level and gradient.
How would the plans impact visitors?
United Utilities said if the work was carried out, it would cause months of disruption.
The work would impact access to the water and several areas of access around the water would close during construction and there would also be a need to make permanent public rights of way diversions.
United Utilities said it was working closely with the Lake District National Park and National Trust to make sure that, following the work, pedestrian access is not restricted and impacts are minimised as much as possible.
The National Trust car park at Lanthwaite Wood, popular with wild swimmers, would also be restricted for four to five months.
This restriction has caused concern for protestors, who are worried about disability accessibility, as Lanthwaite Wood provides a relatively flat path.
United Utilities said it was looking at providing alternative parking to provide an equivalent number of spaces during the proposed work.
Crummock would remain open for swimming and other water-based activities as it remains under the ownership of the National Trust.
The water firm added that the lowering of the water level would widen the lake margin, which could change recreational access to the water from the gravel shoreline.
Traffic management plans would also have to be put in place with 30mph zones and restrictions on HGV’s visiting the site.
How would it impact wildlife?
While United Utilities has said the work would have a positive impact, it has also said there will be negative impacts and that there is a degree of uncertainty in what the long-term impact may be on Crummock.
The water firm said the naturalisation of the water would help restore natural water flow along becks and rivers in the surrounding catchment areas, restore natural salmon habitat and remove barriers to fish migrations.
It added it would also introduce additional tree planting to the area and said it has carried out a suite of ecological surveys including habitat and scoping, bat, otter, reptile and invertebrate surveys.
United Utilities added the work would increase arctic char migration opportunities but that it would cause a temporary reduction in the spawning habitat for the protected fish as well as creating a sub-optimal habitat for it.
This is due to the disruption of substrates (small stones that the fish spawn in) and silt mobilisation from heavy machinery working in the river bed.
The water firm said that the removal of the weir would also subtly impact the physical characteristics of Crummock as a waterbody which could have both positive and negative impacts on the Arctic char’s spawning activities.
It added that surveys and assessments have also found that dropping the water level would have a minor effect on some aquatic plants living in Crummock.
While United Utilities said it believes most aquatic plants will be able to adapt to the change in water level, it also said that it is hard to predict with a high degree of certainty what the long-term impact of a permanent lowering of the water level would be.
Friends of Crummock has also expressed concern over the impact on wildlife and aquatic plant life and the uncertainty of the long term impacts.
How would it manage flood risks?
There has been some concern expressed over the scheme increasing flood risks based on initial models.
The Environment Agency has objected to the plans over flood risk concerns based on the initial models provided by the water firm.
On Tuesday May 13, the environmental regulator said it had asked United Utilities to undertake additional work to ensure the work does not exacerbate flood risk elsewhere.
It added that if it receives all the information it needs to determine there is no increase in flood risk then it will remove its objection and continues to support the aims of the project overall.
United Utilities said it believed the removal of the weir and lowering of the water would help manage flood risks downstream and create greater natural storm attenuation capacity.
How would Crummock look with a lowered water level?
Initial visualisations of what Crummock would look like with a lowered water level have been criticised by campaigners.
While the visualisations depict a white pebbled shoreline, Friends of Crummock said it believed some of the exposed shoreline could consist of dark stones, pebbles and grit derived from adjacent bed rocks that would not show as a bright white margin.
The campaign group also claim that a United Utilities’ visualisation of the boathouse still touching the water on the new shoreline was incorrect – as the lower water level would see the water move further away.
But if the shoreline were to be moved back – Friends of Crummock said it would see the water move away from the boathouse.
What do protestors want to see happen to Crummock instead?
Friends of Crummock are calling for the flow of water to Crummock to be naturalised without removing the entire weir.
This would see Crummock undergo a process known as assisted recovery.
Assisted recovery was also put forward to United Utilities by its environmental engineering consultants, Jacobs.
While the consultants scored both the full removal of the weir and assisted recovery as good options for re-naturalising the water, it did mention areas of concern for both options.
But Jacobs said that assisted recovery would not meet the requirements of removing Crummock as a reservoir from the Reservoir Act 1975, which meant someone have to be responsible for monitoring the weir.
The consultants added that the full removal of the weir could impact the Arctic char and aquatic plants, but a slow reduction of the water level would allow animal life and fauna to get used to the changes.
Jacobs said that if assisted recovery was to go ahead, it would see the working parts of it removed as well as the top section of wave wall.
The weir itself would be retained and buried within a new natural landscape, in a bid to return the water and river to its natural function while keeping the water level the same.
How can you give your views?
People wanting to share their views can email planning@lakedistrict.gov.uk, quoting application 7/2025/2052.
