A £3.7 billion investment could clean up Windemere by preventing sewage and road runoff entering the waters of England’s largest lake, a feasibility study has said.
The scheme, whose backers include the region’s water company United Utilities (UU) and campaigners fighting to restore Windemere to health, would include a huge tunnel to carry sewage to a new “state-of-the-art” water treatment works.
It would also connect thousands of people to a modern sewer network for the first time and create natural drainage and flood reduction schemes as part of efforts to ensure only rainwater goes into the lake.
Windermere is the “jewel” at the heart of the Lake District World Heritage Site and a huge tourist draw, those behind the project said, but struggles with pollution that is worsening with climate change.
More intense rainfall flooding treatment works, sewers and drains, and warmer temperatures are increasing nutrient pollution and algal blooms that can make the water unsafe for swimming and other activities, and harm wildlife.
Campaigners have been fighting for years for action to clean up Windemere (Danny Lawson/PA)
PA Archive
The study has been funded by UU for the Only Rainwater In Windermere” coalition, made up of the water company, the Environment Agency, Lake District National Park Authority, the Love Windermere partnership, Save Windermere campaign group and Westmorland and Furness Council.
Matt Staniek, founder of the Save Windermere campaign to end sewage pollution that he says is the principal driver of the lake’s environmental problems, said the plan was the “transformational approach” the lake needed.
The cost of the scheme, which it is hoped could begin in 2030 and be completed in just seven years, is estimated at between £3.6 and £3.7 billion.
That could add around £3 a month on bills for United Utilities customers or – if Windermere is recognised as a national asset – it could be financed by around 33p on bills for customers nationwide, the team suggests.
It warned that £2.5 billion needs to be spent on incremental interventions to the network over the next century – and the alternative scheme provides a “one and done” approach that will make the lake resilient for the next 100 years, while causing less disruption to the area in the long run.
An economic assessment carried out as part of the feasibility study also found it would deliver around £7.5 billion in benefits, or around £1.90 for every £1 invested.
Central to the scheme is a four-metre-wide tunnel stretching 14km (8.7 miles) or more, running from Ambleside in the north to store and carry wastewater to new high-spec treatment facilities at the southern end of the lake or in Ulverston, to reduce pollution.
The scheme would also increase the sewerage network by 75%, linking up most of the 1,800 septic tanks and 90 “private package” plants which provide sewerage for campsites, caravan parks and hotels with the public sewage system for the first time.
Edward Twiddy, who was independent convener of the coalition, said Windermere was “an exceptional place, that isn’t invulnerable, that is the heart of and the jewel of the Lake District and the beating pulse of its economy”, which struggled and faced growing challenges from climate change.
He said the coalition had assessed more than 70 options and identified a “transformational solution” that would improve resilience, adapt to a changing climate, protect the globally important environment and support sustainable growth in the Lake District economy.
Louise Beardmore, chief executive of United Utilities, said that if the company continued to take a five-year approach in line with the investment and billing cycle for the water industry, “we’re only ever going to get incremental improvement”.
Instead, she said: “This is a long-term solution for the next 100 years, it takes away treated and untreated sewage, it provides an over-75% increase in the network round this great lake.
“It connects thousands of people for the first time to a modern sewerage system, and at the same time deals with highways runoff.
“And we can deliver that at pace and at scale and, more importantly, we can ensure that we safeguard this amazing lake for future generations to come,” she said.
Mr Staniek said: “Sewage is the primary driver of the issues that we are seeing today.
“The lake is unadaptable to climate change and we need a transformational approach to protect this lake for future generations, and this does it in the next 10 years and creates growth for the economy.
“It creates the environmental headroom that is necessary, and it also secures the cultural heritage of this place.”
He told the Press Association: “Windemere should be an inspiration, that’s what it is, it’s a landscape that has inspired poets, writers, ecologists.
“This is about taking Windermere back to the jewel in the crown.”
He said the decision to take action was a political one for Prime Minister Andy Burnham, adding that he would not consider his campaign won until there were spades in the ground delivering the project.
United Utilities has put out an invitation to tender for the contract to conduct detailed design work on the proposed project and said after that, any decision to proceed would be a matter for regulators.