Water firm allowed to pour sewage in Windermere using permit from 1989

A water company is releasing sewage into a stream connected to Lake Windermere using a permit that has not been updated in more than 30 years.

The permit, which allows United Utilities to release waste into the national park site, is “unfit for purpose” and contributes to high levels of pollution and biodiversity decline in the area, according to campaigners.

The sewage being released has been treated, but campaigners say the “primitive” treatment methods at the site mean the wastewater is still harmful to the environment.

United Utilities said it is operating in line with its environmental permit and is not releasing any untreated sewage at the site.

Windermere has become a symbol of Britain’s water pollution crisis due to the occurrence of toxic algal blooms in the iconic lake.

Sewage is released into the lake from a number of treatment works within its catchment.

The Environment Agency (EA) has been accused of neglecting its duties to protect the iconic site by failing to update the permit with stricter conditions to reflect advances in sewage treatment technology in recent decades.

Labour previously promised to prioritise Windermere as part of its drive to clean up Britain’s waterways, but campaigners said it has “done nothing” yet to protect the lake in the long term.

Tim Farron, Environment Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats and the MP whose constituency covers Windermere, urged ministers to prioritise national parks as they clamp down on water company pollution.

The i Paper previously revealed that there are hundreds of permits that allow water companies to release sewage into England’s rivers that have not been updated by Government officials for decades.

What is a sewage permit?

Permits are documents that set out the conditions under which water companies must treat wastewater before it is discharged into the environment.

The permits also outline when water companies can dump untreated sewage into bodies of water, something firms are allowed to do during periods of exceptional rainfall to prevent it from backing up into people’s homes.

They apply to the management of wastewater treatment plants, pumping stations and the pipes in the sewerage network through which companies are allowed to spill sewage, known as combined sewer overflows.

In response to concerns over the state of Windermere, the EA previously promised to review the environmental permits within the lake’s catchment.

However, the permit for one sewage treatment plant, Far Sawrey, on the western shoreline of Lake Windermere remains unchanged since 1989.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said the watchdog has “reviewed all United Utilities permits in the Windermere catchment and will be implementing tighter environmental standards where necessary”.

They said this review has led to United Utilities tripling its investment within the Windermere catchment. The EA typically informs water companies of upgrades they need to make before issuing new permits. However at this stage the agency has not revealed whether last year’s review will result in a revised permit for Far Sawrey.

Public anger has been growing over the impact of sewage pollution on Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas.

Only 14 percent of rivers and lakes have a ‘good’ ecological status and many are unsafe for swimmers and wildlife alike.

Much of the anger has been focussed on the untreated waste that is dumped into waterways during periods of rainfall when companies’ sewerage networks become overwhelmed. Latest official figures showed firms in England dumped raw sewage a total of 464,056 times in 2023.

However, environmental groups are also concerned about the quality of treated sewage that is pouring into rivers, lakes and seas.

Billions of litres of treated sewage is released into water in the UK each day from roughly 9,000 sewage treatment works run by water companies across the country.

However, these treatment plants vary greatly in terms of their size and the technology they use; while some use advanced techniques to strip sewage of a wide-range of pollutants, others are much more basic.

The EA is responsible for issuing environmental permits for wastewater treatment works, which set out the conditions under which companies can release treated sewage from a site. Some of these permits contain limits on the levels of pollutants, such as phosphorus, in discharges, but this is not always the case.

The EA is supposed to regularly review and update these permits, but an investigation by The i Paper last year found hundreds of permits have not been updated in decades.

The sewage treated at Far Sawrey is released into Wilfin Beck, which flows into Lake Windermere less than a mile away.

Matt Staniek, founder of the Save Windermere campaign group, said phosphorus from sewage was a key factor contributing to the toxic algal blooms in the lake.

Modelling from the Environment Agency previously found sewage is responsible for 59 per cent of the phosphorus in the south basin of Windermere, while 41 per cent comes from runoff from agriculture and urban areas.

Save Windermere began investigating the Far Sawrey site after noticing “sewage fungus” in Wilfin Beck.

They discovered the permit for the site has not been updated since 1989, when water firms across England were first privatised.

The site does not have a ‘storm overflow’, meaning untreated sewage cannot be released from the site. However, campaigners say the basic treatment methods at the site mean the treated waste is likely to still contain high levels of phosphorus. They criticised the EA for not including tougher phosphorus limits on the site’s permit, as this would have forced the water company to carry out upgrades at the site.    

Staniek said the site was “decrepit, primitive, and inadequately maintained”.

He said the treatment works did not include any modern technology designed to remove pollutants from wastewater and did not even have electricity.

“This is despite the significant increase in visitor numbers to the area over the past 40 years and the added strain of a rapidly changing climate,” he said.

“The treatment processing there is not good enough to protect somewhere like Windermere.”

It is understood United Utilities has plans to introduce phosphorus removal technology at the site as part of its investment plans over the next five years.

Loss of wildlife detected near sewage plant

In 2022 and 2023, Save Windermere partnered with the campaign group WildFish to undertake a survey in Wilfin Beck looking at aquatic invertebrates which are known for being a good indicator of a river’s health.

In 2022 they discovered a 61 per cent decrease in the diversity of riverfly species above and below the sewage pipe at Far Sawrey, as well as an 88 per cent decline in the abundance of riverfly.

In 2023, they recorded 27 different invertebrate species, with an abundance of 228 individual insects upstream of the sewage works. Downstream they recorded just one species and two individuals, representing a 99 per cent reduction in species abundance and a 96 per cent reduction in species diversity.

Staniek said the decline in invertebrates demonstrated the “chronic impact” of sewage on the stream’s ecosystem.

“It’s really reflecting that this is not just a one off instance. This over time is having an enormous impact on that base layer of the food chain,” he said.

Save Windermere previously identified similar issues with a nearby sewage treatment plant, named Near Sawrey, that discharges into Cunsey Beck, a site of special scientific interest.

It found that while the permit for the site had included limits on the amount of ammoniacal nitrogen, which can be toxic to aquatic life, there were no limits on phosphorus levels in its sewage discharges.

Save Windermere said this meant not enough was being done to prevent fish kills. It is understood that Near Sawrey is also one of the permits that has been recently reviewed by the EA.

Overall the group argues that permits must be tightened across the catchment to lessen the impact of sewage pollution within the national park.

They urged the Government to do more to ensure Lake Windermere is prioritised as part of its effort to clamp down on pollution.

“Labour has stated that they will prioritise Windermere, yet they have done nothing to ensure its long-term protection for the nation. They need to commit to ending sewage pollution in Windermere. It’s the only way to Save Windermere,” Staniek said.

Mr Farron, Environment Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats and local MP for the area, said: “After years of failure by the Conservative Government, I’m bitterly disappointed to see Labour’s plans go nowhere near far enough to take the radical action we need to clean up our precious lakes and rivers.”

Since coming into power, Labour has introduced the Water (Special Measures) Bill that will bring in automatic fines for water companies responsible for pollution, as well as the threat of criminal prosecution for CEOs.

The Government has also launched a review of the water industry, which is looking at how firms are regulated.

Farron is putting forward an amendment to the Water Bill that he said will “force water companies to specifically reduce pollution in the waterways in our national parks”.

“During the General Election, Keir Starmer and Labour gave a lots of warm words about how special Windermere is and how they would do everything in their power to protect it.

“If they really meant what they said then Labour MPs must back my amendment next week,” he said.

A United Utilities spokesperson, said: “Our Far Sawrey site operates in line with its environmental permit.

“We are already delivering at pace on £200m of investment in the Windermere catchment as we make improvements to nine treatment works to ensure we treat wastewater to even higher standards – this includes at Far Sawrey. Our investment will also reduce discharges from all six storm overflows in the catchment.”

A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson said: “This Government will never look the other way while water companies pump record levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas – and that includes the iconic Lake Windermere.

“Just 70 days after the election, we introduced the Water (Special Measures) Bill to strengthen regulation, with new powers to ban the payment of bonuses if environmental standards are not met and ensuring bosses face personal criminal liability for lawbreaking.

“We have also launched the largest review of the water sector since privatisation to attract the investment we need to clean up our waterways for good.”

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “The Environment Agency is steadfast in role as a regulator. If any water company breaches an environmental permit, we will take enforcement action up to and including a criminal prosecution. We are currently conducting several investigations into pollution related incidents in and around Windermere.

“Last year we reviewed all United Utilities permits in the Windermere catchment and will be implementing tighter environmental standards where necessary. This has led to United Utilities tripling initial investment proposals in the Windermere catchment.

“Progress is being made, with recent improvements to sewage treatment works leading to a fall in phosphorus input by approximately 30 per cent since 2020. We know there is more to do which is why we are driving water company improvements to reduce storm overflows to an average of 10 spills per year, increase storm storage capacity and improve wastewater treatment at the largest sites.”