United Utilities accused of illegally dumping sewage in Windermere for years

Water company United Utilities has been accused of failing to report more than 100 million liters of raw sewage it illegally dumped in Windemere over a three-year period.

The BBC analysis found that the company, which serves seven million customers in the North West, pumped between 143 and 286 million liters of waste into the lake between 2021 and 2023 at times when it was not was allowed

United Utilities also failed to report at least 102 million liters of that contamination to regulators, the broadcaster claimed.

It comes just a day after the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) ordered the company to improve its handling of requests for environmental information following complaints about a lack of transparency.

Although not subject to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, water companies have a legal obligation to make environmental information available under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) , both proactively and as requested by the public.

It is understood that the data analyzed by the BBC was first requested from United Utilities under these regulations by anti-pollution campaigner Matt Staniek.

Although the Environment Agency allows the company to release untreated sewage into Windermere in certain circumstances during wet weather, the broadcaster found that the Glebe Road pumping station, which discharges directly into the lake, had not fulfilled the permit.

The company must notify the Environment Agency, but United Utilities failed to do so for some of the spills identified by the analysis over the three years.

Staniek, founder of Save Windermere, said the lake was being treated as “an open sewer” as he spoke of its cultural significance in the works of artists and writers such as Beatrix Potter, Arthur Ransome and William Wordsworth.

“The importance of Windermere on a national and international scale is huge and this is just blatant exploitation,” he said.

“It’s an illegal spill, it shouldn’t be happening and that’s why today we’re calling on Keir Starmer to end the pollution in Windermere once and for all.”

He added that United Utilities are “either grossly incompetent and have failed to demonstrate they can meet their statutory duty” or “it’s something more sinister and they knew it”.

“They should have known about this,” he continued. “You have to ask the question why. Why haven’t they reported it and why hasn’t the Environment Agency done anything about it?”.

Commons leader Lucy Powell told MPs on Thursday that the sewage in Windermere is an “appalling scandal”, calling the BBC’s revelations “shocking”.

He called for a Commons debate on the “horrific ongoing behavior of water companies”, adding: “It is home to countless species of wildlife and surrounding habitats and is a haven for swimmers and sports enthusiasts aquatic

“United Utilities’ failings are clear for all to see, unlike the water they are polluting.”

United Utilities said it reported all discharges, including potential non-compliant discharges, to the Environment Agency through “our reporting processes and liaison meetings”.

It also claims to be “the industry leader in self-reporting”, self-reporting more than 94% of potential pollution incidents to the regulator.

A spokesman said: “As part of our ongoing work to reduce spills, in January 2024 we discovered an engineering problem in the configuration of the Windermere system which meant that some of the discharges recorded by our duration monitors of the event they did not potentially fulfill.

“Although these spills occurred when it was wet and our storage system was already full and leaking, we reported them to the Environment Agency as soon as we became aware of the situation.

“We have now implemented engineering changes to the system to prevent this from happening again.

“In addition, we will start construction around Windermere next month to deal with increased rainfall, population growth and the impacts of climate change, which includes additional capacity and treatment above our requirements for permit that will store more stormwater and reduce discharges.”

The BBC previously revealed that United Utilities had downplayed dozens of pollution incidents, after which United Utilities retrospectively reported some discharges into the lake from October 2023.

But this latest analysis covering data from January 2021 suggests that illegal dumping had been occurring much longer than these retrospective reports.

The Environment Agency said in a statement that it had launched a “complex and ongoing” investigation into the sewage discharges from October 2023, adding that it was examining further evidence received from the company .

A spokesman said: “If any water company is found to be in breach of an environmental permit, the Environment Agency will take appropriate enforcement action up to and including criminal prosecution.

“We are absolutely committed to improving water quality in Lake Windermere, which is why we are working closely with the local community and a range of partners to reduce pollution from different sources.”

He added that teams have completed nine inspections of United Utilities assets in the Windermere Basin this year, with a further three inspections due before the end of 2024.