A water company is proposing building an underground tank to improve the water quality of England’s biggest freshwater lake.
A BBC investigation found United Utilities dumped millions of litres of raw sewage illegally into Windermere in Cumbria over a three-year period between 2021 and 2023.
The company said the facility would cut the number of times a storm overflow – a valve which allows diluted sewage to be discharged during heavy rain – is used.
Matt Staniek, a campaigner against sewage pollution and founder of Save Windermere, said: “Any investment is good because it’s needed but United Utilities needs to stop putting any sewage, treated or untreated, into Windermere.”
If it gets planning permission, construction of the tank, which would hold the equivalent of four Olympic-sized swimming pools, would begin on land off Glebe Road, Bowness-on-Windermere in 2027, and should be completed by early 2030.
Staniek believes it is a result of ongoing pressure Save Windermere has placed on the water company over what he said was the “the sheer exploitation of England’s largest lake”.
He also said he was “sceptical” about the plan’s effectiveness.
“They are saying they’re going to reduce the number of spills but they are still not saying how much untreated sewage by volume they will continue to discharge,” he said.