A new report on the health of Windermere has been issued by a Lake District partnership.
The controversial lake is the focus of campaigners – led by Save Windermere – who claim that the amount of pollution being discharged into it is killing Cumbria’s jewel in the crown.
However, this new report, A Changing Windermere, issued by the Love Windermere Partnership, said key findings showed that it was healthy, but acknowledges work needs to be done around pollution.
The partnership is planning to publish an action plan for the lake this year.
Cumbria Crack has not yet seen the full report, published today.
Love Windermere said: “Using research compiled by the Freshwater Biological Association combined with the most current data on Windermere water quality, the work has been produced under guidance from Lancaster University and has been reviewed by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and Environment Agency Chief Scientists Group.
“It brings together the latest research, highlights the ecological status of Windermere and explores the challenges around tackling pollution and the impacts of climate change.”
In a press release, the partnership said the key findings were:
- Total phosphorus concentrations peaked in the 1990s but then fell and have remained relatively stable for the last 15 years largely due to improvements in wastewater treatment.
- Total nitrogen concentrations have remained relatively stable in the north and south basins since 2008.
- Windermere’s four designated bathing waters which monitor bacteria such as E.coli have consistently received the highest classification of cleanliness, ‘excellent,’ since 2015.
- The presence of many species of fish, including those indicating clean water and high-quality habitat, such as the Atlantic salmon and sea trout.The presence of otters further indicates a high-quality environment.
- Climate change affects the natural processes occurring within Windermere and its animals and plants, including algal blooms such as blue-green algae. The temperature increase in Windermere is notable – rising by 1.7C in the last 70 years – supporting earlier and longer algal blooms and favouring coarse fish like ruffle and roach but making conditions hard for the iconic Arctic charr.
It added: “While progress has been made, the report is clear that further action is needed to reduce pollution, restore habitats, and race against climate change.”
The Love Windermere Partnership, set up in 2022, is a collaboration of local public, private and third sector organisations.
Nigel Wilkinson, chair of the Love Windermere Partnership, said: “A Changing Windermere is a vital resource in understanding the current condition of the lake and guiding future action.
“While we’ve seen positive changes, we must continue working together to address the challenges that remain. Through collaboration, investment, and science-led solutions, we can secure a healthier future for Windermere for generations to come.”
It said it would hold a series of drop-in events across the Windermere catchment from March 31 for people to speak directly with experts and ask questions.
Earlier this month, the Government announced that it was pledging to clean up Windermere.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: “Windermere is a stunningly beautiful national treasure – but it’s being choked by unacceptable levels of sewage pollution.
“As part of our Plan for Change, 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.”
Following approval by Ofwat last year, United Utilities are investing £200 million to upgrade nine wastewater treatment works at Windermere and reduce the spills from four storm overflows discharging into the lake to 10 per year by 2030, with upgrades to the remaining six storm overflows proposed for 2030-35.
However, it was criticised by the Save Windermere campaign group, which said because United Utilities measured the success of its storm overflow reduction efforts on the number of spill events rather than the total volume of sewage discharged, it failed to provide a rigorous assessment of the overall environmental impact.
It said data it had obtained revealed that there were still 6,327 hours of spills into the lake from six sites around it.
