It’s been just over a week since we launched our new petition. We are closing in on 15,000 signatures if you haven't yet signed this new petition head to this link  We have an update for you on progress made in this last week on this new campaign.

Last Friday (15/12), the campaign met with the new Area Director of the Environment Agency. During this meeting, we reiterated its views that the Agency is not sufficiently holding United Utilities to account, the agency is not doing enough to protect Windermere and the Cunsey Beck fish kill investigation must be reopened. The Area Director showed receptiveness and a positive conversation was had. We aim to maintain an open dialogue with the Agency however, but will continue to put pressure on them to uphold their statutory duty and take action to improve conditions in Windermere in the first months of 2024. We has set out the measures that we feel are imperative to protecting the lake. We want to see these implemented by the end of 2024. We believe the Agency already possesses the resources and mandate necessary to achieve most of these proposed actions, crucial for ensuring the long-term protection of Windermere.

Despite being presented with independent evidence highlighting the inadequate investigation, the Environment Agency has concluded that they will not be taking action surrounding the Cunsey Beck fish death investigation, as “The organisation stands by its officer’s professional judgement that an algal bloom in Esthwaite Water was the most likely cause”. The Save Windermere campaign has seen no other alternative than to continue to call for a Public Inquiry into the government regulator as they are not acting on their failings.

We strongly maintain that the initial investigation into the Cunsey Beck incident in June 2022 was wholly inept, as confirmed by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency’s (SEPA) review of the Environment Agency investigation. The Agency did not perform a robust investigation as they didn’t systematically sample the river downstream of the sewage pipe, they misrepresented their own ecologists findings and they did not take any dead fish for autopsy. Save Windermere believes evidence could still be obtained to help determine the cause of the incident, which killed 100% of the fish and invertebrate life in the river. Due to the Agency’s inaction on this case, the campaign is now exploring various avenues to hold the Agency accountable for their failings.

We must continue pushing on this new initiative. Now is a great time to talk over the Christmas period with your friends and families and tell them about the regulatory failings of the Agency. Please continue to share the petition on social media. 

If you have a spare 10 minutes please also watch our latest film which shows how a sewage pipe is allowed to discharge up to 1.1 million litres a day of sewage which ends up in Windermere. 

For more information surrounding Cunsey Beck and internal correspondence from the EA head to this link