"THE water should be crystal clear all year round, I see a lake that turned bright green last summer."
That was what water campaigner Matt Staniek told protesters at the Save Windermere rally on The Glebe, Bowness on Monday, May 29. Joining Mr Staniek's campaign were famous comedians Lee Mack, Paul Whitehouse, and Steve Coogan.
Mr Staniek spoke to hundreds of people about what the challenges facing Windermere were, and what his vision for the future of the lake is.
He said: "The Windermere I am fighting is vastly different from the one that inspired me as a young boy. Today where there was once an abundance of fish, I see a lake where the Arctic Char are virtually extinct. The water should be crystal clear all year round, I see a lake that turned bright green last summer.
"In its natural state, Windermere is an oligotrophic lake. This means in its natural state it would be so low in nutrients that algal blooms would be incredibly unlikely or would not occur at all. What is happening to Windermere is due to human interference with this lake.
"One company that by their own admission is the greatest source of this pollution into our lake. That is the £7 billion water company United Utilities recently named as the worst polluter of all the water companies in the UK. In 2022, over 5,900 hours of untreated sewage was discharged into Windermere’s catchment in an unknown volume."
Mr Staniek blamed this on "decades worth of inadequate investment" into United Utilities' assets, which the company says is inaccurate.
He continued: "On top of this they have just announced last week that they will return £300 million of billpayer’s money to their shareholders in the form of dividends.
"They have recently proposed a £19 million investment into storm tanks in Windermere, but the storm overflow discharging is only part of the problem and this money is only going to reduce the frequency of storm spilling. The other issue comes from the final treated effluent which is likely to be causing more damage to the lake. Even treated sewage is nutrient-rich and this is constantly flowing into Windermere.
"Consider the case study of Lake Annecy in the 1960s. The French witnessed its decline with algal blooms on the rise and fish populations dwindling. They took decisive action, removing all sewage being discharged into their lake and today it stands as the cleanest lake in Europe."
Mr Staniek says that Windermere is a "unique case" as it has a low dilution factor compared to other bodies of water. Therefore, he called for discharges to be into rivers and lakes that can carry away water quicker.
Comedian Steve Coogan said: "I think Matt Staniek has set an example and shamed older people like myself. He has gone up against the huge behemoth called United Utilities when he does that you can’t help but be inspired, it’s a David vs. Goliath fight. You want to join David.
READ MORE: Paul Whitehouse, Steve Coogan and Lee Mack visited Bowness
"Just check out the facts they speak for themselves it’s a very simple message stop putting sewage in our British waterways and our British lakes clean it up and clean up what you’ve already put in there."
Kevin Sayers, area engagement lead for United Utilities, said: “We all want the same thing – to see healthy lakes and rivers, not just at Windermere but across the region. That is why we have secured permission to start early on the biggest environmental improvement programme we have ever delivered, building on decades of previous investment.
“Up to now we have prioritised our investment programmes on other more pressing challenges – cleaner bathing waters, tighter drinking water standards, reducing leakage, bringing resilience to the region’s water supplies. And we’ve kept customers’ bills from rising any more than the rate of inflation over the last 15 years.
“We’re committed to playing our part at Windermere with further investment to reduce storm overflows. But United Utilities is not the whole story – it will take a collaborative effort from a range of partners to bring about the changes we all want to see.”
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