November 2022
Before you read the blog, the campaign’s film is worth a watch (over 100k views already and rising!)
Over the summer, we witnessed one of the largest algal bloom outbreaks ever recorded on Lake Windermere, one that encompassed the entire northern basin. This is a warning of what is to come. Not enough is being done to address the fundamental issue in Windemere: excessive phosphate input. The organisation responsible for the majority of phosphate entering into Lake Windemere?
United Utilities.
Lake Windemere is struggling to adapt to the climate crisis. A steady increase in water temperature, flooding, tourism and inadequate wastewater infrastructure is having a visible impact. I fear these amalgamating pressures will trigger an algal bloom event, big enough, that thousands of fish will wash up dead on the shores of the lake. We had just enough water flowing through our rivers this summer. If the past six months is anything to go by, I truly believe Lake Windermere is doomed.
United Utilities are failing to take the necessary actions required to adequately address the excessive phosphate that is being discharged from their assets.
The Windermere situation is the epitome of the water industry failing our watery environments. United Utilities’ most recent investment, into the catchment, was £40 million between 2015-20. Over that same time period, the company paid out £1.6 billion in profits to their shareholders. Clearly, we are not seeing proportional investment. United Utilities’ infrastructure is seemingly unable to cope with the booming tourism industry, here in the Lake District, as well as the growing resident population. I am convinced, that at the height of summer, United Utilities’ assets are being overrun
Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP) has been able to assist me with identifying the extent of United Utilities’ illegal spilling. Frustratingly, a considerable proportion of the necessary data has been withheld. United Utilities’ transparency around data has been really concerning. From the available data, WASP were able to identify at least one wastewater treatment works (WwTW), at Ambleside, that was consistently spilling illegally. Building on these findings, WildFish were able to help me identify the impact Ambleside WwTW was having on the freshwater ecology. Invertebrate sampling found a 44% reduction in species present downstream of the WwTW compared with upstream.
With all of this mounting evidence, I couldn’t just sit back and watch. I was tired of seeing the organisations, put in place to protect the lake, blindly failing to hold United Utilities to account. So I have kick-started a campaign: Save Windemere. The aims of the campaign are simple:
To finance the campaign, I am actively fundraising. My Crowdfunder made £10,000 within a week of opening. The first instalment is being invested into a collaboration between WildFish, Cumbria Wildlife Trust and I. We are setting up a Windemere invertebrate monitoring hub. This will start collecting the evidence no-one, independent of United Utilities, is willing to collect. This will show us exactly how these sites are damaging the freshwater ecology of the rivers and generate vital data to give to the Environment Agency. The data from invertebrate sampling is more robust than spot water sampling as it can give us an indication of pollution over the years and not just a single point in time.
Further funding will help support the production of new films and media, just like the one at the start of the blog! For me, it is paramount that I am able to reach those who are currently unaware of the degradation occurring in the Windermere catchment. It is Windermere’s natural beauty that attracts millions of visitors each year. All deserve to be informed of the strain wastewater is placing it under.
Put simply. I am a local lad trying his best to protect his patch from the devastating operations of a billion-pound-serial-polluting-mega-corporation. This campaign is an opportunity for me to gain some support and spread my message. It is my hope, that together, we can bring about change in Windermere and hold United Utilities to account for their actions.
You can find more information about the campaign here, and the crowdfunder here.
Matt Staniek is a Zoologist, Conservationist and Campaigner in the Lake District.
Follow: @mattstaniek
The opinions expressed in this blog are the authors' and not necessarily those of the wider Link membership.
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