Sewage was illegally poured into the Lake District’s famous Lake Windermere for a record number of days last year, campaigners say, citing new analysis.
They looked at official data released by United Utilities to identify times the water company had released untreated sewage into England’s longest lake, when legally it should have been treating some of it.
The Save Windermere and Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP) groups counted 140 days of what they deemed illegal spills in 2024 across six sites on the lake.
This was more than the previous record of 110 days in 2023, and higher than in any other of the three previous years, Professor Peter Hammond from WASP found.
United Utilities disputed the findings, saying some of the data was “erroneous” and that the method was different to that used by the regulator.
The company has earmarked £200m of investment to treat wastewater more thoroughly and stem the flow of the six overflow sites in question.
The news comes as water bills in England and Wales rise by an average of £10 per month. United Utilities customers are set to pay 23% more than they were.
Water companies are allowed to release untreated sewage into waterways when the network risks being overwhelmed, to avoid sewage backing up into people’s homes.
The campaigners say United Utilities discharged sewage into the lake before that threshold had been breached. Other water companies in the country have faced similar accusations.
Last week, Environment Secretary Steve Reed said the amount of sewage being dumped into English rivers remained “disgraceful”, despite some…
