We welcome the publication of the feasibility study into how sewage and surface water drainage pollution can be prevented from entering Windermere in future. Sewage and surface run-off from roads and urban areas have been a primary source of phosphate pollution which is the main cause driving the ecological deterioration of Windermere over many years. 

Our position is that pollution in Windermere is unacceptable, as it is in all of the other lakes, tarns, rivers and becks across Cumbria. Our freshwaters must be cleaned up as a priority and as part of the restoration of good water quality, as an indicator of the health of our environment in general.  We call for the urgent recovery of damaged freshwater habitats and wildlife species everywhere to help address the twin nature and climate crises. 

We recognise the comprehensive and visionary nature of the study undertaken by United Utilities, Save Windermere and others in preparing the report. 

In principle, we welcome and support the ambitious proposals to resolve Windermere’s pollution problems by investing in a big and bold, once-and-for-all ‘main sewer’ to receive all sewage and take it to a new, state-of-the-art modern treatment facility that can treat the catchment’s waste water to the highest possible environmental standards. 

We support strongly United Utilities and Save Windermere in their vision to achieve high and unpolluted water quality in Windermere – and, in so doing, restore ecological function, habitats and wildlife species, not only for their own sake but importantly for people and future generations. 

We recognise that this is an expensive proposal but consider that given this investment is designed to function for 100 years, it represents good value if it results in the restoration of Windermere. Restoration of the lake and its ecological functions are likely to provide far more in terms of the return on investment for wildlife, the environment, economy and tourism than the estimated £3.6bn cost.

We call on the Government and its water regulators, including Ofwat, to approve the proposals and ensure that the proposed programme is funded and built as quickly as possible within the seven-year timetable. The sooner the construction is completed, the lower the costs, the better the ecological outcomes and the bigger the benefits for the public and local communities. 

As welcome as this proposal is, we believe that it’s vital the Windermere catchment is also managed as an integrated holistic ‘system’. The fells, becks, tarns, rivers and landscape all shape and influence Windermere and its water quality and wildlife. They’re all components in an interconnected and joined-up water system. 

Whilst this important proposal will help with many aspects of the most pressing Windermere challenges caused by sewage and surface run-off, it’s narrowly focused. Many significant challenges, such as those posed, for example, by climate breakdown (rising temperatures, increased winter rainfall, more spring summer droughts, increased storminess and extreme events) will still require other additional interventions.

The Windermere catchment requires an integrated catchment plan that brings all of these elements together under an organisation that has the powers and resources to make the necessary measures happen – and ensure that stakeholders are working together towards an agreed single plan.

For example, amongst many of the sensible and cost-effective measures required, Cumbria Wildlife Trust believes that there is an urgent need for:

1. New initiatives and funding to support and reward farmers for improving their soils everywhere across the catchment. Improving soil organic matter and reducing soil compaction, for example, can increase the water-holding capacity of the landscape and make the landscape and farming more resilient to both floods and droughts.
2. A strong emphasis on improving the condition of wetlands in the catchment, including creating new wetlands in key locations. 
3. Widespread tree planting programmes on banksides to shade watercourses (not to mention livestock and people) and keep water temperatures cooler in becks, rivers and lakeshores during the warmer summers and more extreme heatwaves that we expect in future. 
4. Programme to manage and control invasive species which are impacting rare species like Arctic charr (such as the introduced ruffe and others).
5. Other nature-based solutions to be delivered at scale – the best would be to bring back beavers to the Windermere catchment where they could help improve wildlife-rich habitats, help clean water flows and enhance resilience to flooding and droughts.
6. Co-ordinated research programmes between academics, community citizen-scientists and land managers/practitioners to survey, monitor and follow ecological trends in the lake - and identify collaborative actions to address the lake’s challenges.

Stephen Trotter, Chief Executive of Cumbria Wildlife Trust, said:

“I welcome this bold and visionary report – for the first time we have a proposal on the table which could actually ‘fix’ some of Windermere’s pollution problems and algal blooms. We’ve been waiting for this for some time and it’s a big leap forward. 

“After several years of difficult publicity and controversy, it’s good to see United Utilities and Save Windermere collaborating to find an agreed practical solution to the ecological problems that are widely recognised as the main cause of the deteriorating quality and value of Windermere. 

“I warmly congratulate all of those involved for their hard work and commitment in working together on this study.

“It’s very good news that a plan has been published but this is only the start. The real test is going to be what happens next. 

“We must see the proposal built if the future of Windermere as England’s most iconic lake is to be secured. So it’s now over to Government and its regulators to make sure this opportunity isn’t wasted or smothered by bureaucracy and time-wasting. We’ve heard lots of fine words about a commitment to fixing the water system – well, here’s a national opportunity to demonstrate the Government means business and is committed to the environment.

“But as much as I welcome this news, it only deals with a narrow range of the challenges that face Windermere and we need to see a meaningful joined-up plan for the Windermere catchment that all land managers can help to deliver and, for example, results in more trees being planted to shade vulnerable becks and rivers from summer heatwaves, improves our soils and brings key species like beavers back to the catchment where they can create multiple benefits.”