UNITED UTILITIES BACKS £3.6BN WINDERMERE SEWAGE PLAN

United Utilities and clean water campaigners have backed a £3.6bn plan to stop sewage entering Windermere, England’s largest lake. The proposal, called Only Rainwater into Windermere, aims to divert both raw sewage and treated wastewater away from the lake. Campaigners say nutrients in wastewater contribute to the green algal blooms that appear in parts of Windermere during warmer months. The plan would also connect 12,800 people to the sewage network for the first time.

The proposal includes a tunnel of up to 12 miles, up to 86 miles of new sewage infrastructure and a single wastewater treatment works. The tunnel would measure around four metres across. Homes around Windermere currently use a mix of public treatment works, private facilities and septic tanks. Treatment works can release raw sewage when heavy rain overwhelms them, while treated effluent can contain high nutrient levels. Windermere lies in the Lake District, a Unesco World Heritage site that attracts close to 18 million visitors a year.

United Utilities chief executive Louise Beardmore called the proposal a “100 year solution for this lake”. She said water companies, regulators, local authorities and environmental campaigners had worked together on the plan. Campaigner Matt Staniek called it a “milestone” but said: “For me this is a plan on a piece of paper. It is not definitive action and that’s what I want to see.” The government must now decide whether to develop the proposal further and whether its £3.6bn cost is acceptable.