A fast follow from last week’s report about Esthwaite Lodge Emergency Overflow, we now have further evidence of United Utilities neglect for Esthwaite Water, a SSSI and internationally protected RAMSAR site.

Our latest report suggests that United Utilities tried to cover up evidence of sewage spills at Hawkshead Pumping Station, which also discharges into the protected lake, and the Environment Agency failed to act.

Save Windermere and Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP) has conducted a forensic investigation into one of the worst-performing sewage infrastructure sites in the Windermere catchment.

Over a four-month investigation, we uncovered:

• 67 days with illegal discharges in 2024 alone, with 280 days recorded since 2020.
  Key logbook entries redacted by United Utilities in an apparent attempt to conceal evidence of non-compliance.
• A single spill event saw an estimated 190,000 litres of untreated sewage discharged into Esthwaite Water.
• Repeated failure by the Environment Agency to investigate or request supporting data, often accepting incomplete or misleading reports from United Utilities.

This is our most damning report to date. Read the full investigation and see the data for yourself.