Government vows to clean up England's largest lake

Environment Secretary Steve Reed has pledged to work towards ensuring that "only rainwater" enters England's largest lake.

Speaking on a visit to Windermere, Reed said the government would work with the water company, local authorities in Cumbria and environmental groups to draft a feasibility study to eliminate all discharges into the lake.

Currently, treated wastewater and untreated sewage is at times discharged into the lake and scientists say it has contributed to algal blooming where the water turns green.

United Utilities, the water company that serves Windermere, said it was committed to improving its water quality and was spending £200m on wastewater treatment.

In 2024, it was revealed the firm had repeatedly discharged millions of litres of raw sewage illegally into the lake over a three-year period.

Reed told BBC Breakfast it was "wholly unacceptable that this lake was allowed to be contaminated with so much pollution - more than 140 million litres."

Reed did not offer details as to how all discharges into Windermere would be stopped, but it would almost certainly require a large network of new sewage pipes to take the wastewater and sewage away.

Last year, United Utilities published a feasibility study that concluded it would require 42 miles (67km) of new pipes to take the discharges downstream and 205 miles (330km) of new network to connect private sewage facilities. The study was not costed but it is likely to be in the hundreds of millions of pounds.

Part of the Lake District National Park Unesco World Heritage Site, Windermere is home to more than 14,000 people and its scenery attracts an estimated seven million visitors per year.

Matt Staniek, a campaigner against sewage pollution and founder of Save Windermere, has been invited to be part of the feasibility study.

He said the announcement felt "like a new dawn" for Windermere but remained cautious, adding: "This is so far just an objective, it's a vision, it's an ambition and we want to see this absolutely concrete.

"We want to see a legally binding commitment and we're going to continue [to campaign] until that happens."

Asked when the water in Windermere might be safe enough to swim in, Reed told BBC Breakfast: "It won't be ready as quickly as summer. It's taken a long time to get to the state that it's in."

However, Nigel Wilkinson, managing director of Windermere Lake Cruises, said the minister's comment was "simply not true" and Windermere was safe to bathe in.

Official data on the quality of bathing water rated Windermere excellent at the last survey in September.

Mr Wilkinson said: "It's simply not true and it's absolutely disastrous for our visitor economy, we have the Windermere Great Swim coming up in June, with up to 10,000 people swimming in the lake.

"This misinformation is absolutely appalling."

As a first step, the government said it was looking at new ways to reduce pollution from private sewage discharges into Windermere.

These included new treatment plants, along with schemes which would let owners of septic tanks and package treatment works ask for a connection to the mains sewer under certain conditions.

As part of the scheme, United Utilities is spending £200m to upgrade nine wastewater treatment works at Windermere and said it would reduce spills from six storm overflows discharging into the lake by 2030.

Though that money will initially come from investors, it will ultimately be paid for through increased customer bills. Over the next five years, United Utilities customers will on average see their bills rise by 32% above the rate of inflation.

It is not clear how long it will take for the Windermere feasibility study to be completed. But, if and when the plans are approved, it could raise bills further.

Reed said: "The government is committed to cleaning up this iconic lake.

"That is why we are working with a range of local groups and organisations to stop all sewage going into the lake and restore it to its natural beauty."

A United Utilities spokesperson said they had already invested £75m to cut pollution in the lake.

They added: "Today's announcement by the government looks at a long-term plan for only rainfall entering Windermere and we will be working with the other partners involved to support this."

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