Over 27,700 hours of untreated sewage has officially found its way into Windermere since 2020. Today marks the annual release of United Utilities EDM data by the Environment Agency, which shows that in 2023, 8787 hours of untreated sewage made its way into Windermere. That equates to 366 days of last year.

https://www.savewindermere.com/news/uu-storm-overflow-performance-2023

The results are shocking. 4,014,964 hours on 477,927 occasions dumping sewage into England's rivers, an all time record. The staggering 2023 EDM data reflects the water industry’s prioritisation of profit over environmental protection even here in the Lake District National Park and UNESCO World Heritage site.

This is not about the weather. It is a result of deliberate commercial decisions to not invest in infrastructure to maximise dividend returns. As a result, millions upon millions of liters of untreated sewage have entered a lake that retains much of what is dumped into it. The Financial Times reported that nationally, 79.4% of spilling is due to lack of capacity.

What is just as shocking is that the EA has permitted this, despite the 1991 Urban Wastewater Directive stating that storm spilling is only allowed to occur in exceptional circumstances. Currently, in the catchment, the EA is permitting spilling after just 0.25mm [1/4 of a mm] of rain.

United Utilities’ next round of investment in Windermere is totally inadequate to protect our lake. The EA is failing in its duty to hold United Utilities accountable, and this is the result.

Your support is now more important to Save Windermere then ever before, please sign up to our website [ savewindermere.com ] and explore the ways in which you can help.