Cotswold Outdoor: Saving Windermere With Environmentalist, Matt Staniek
"The lake is at a tipping point. Enough hasn't been done over the last 20 years to ensure it is adaptable to climate change. Phosphorus is entering the catchment area in unsustainable quantities and destroying the fragile freshwater environment. Phosphorous is a problem because it acts as fertiliser for algae, and lots of algae means no oxygen in the water for fish.
The sources of phosphorous pollution include storm overflow discharge, septic tanks, household products, and diffuse agricultural runoff flowing into the river. If combined with a prolonged drought in the summer, high visitor numbers and drinking water being taken from the lake, we could get an algal bloom so big that it will cause the death of the lake, with thousands of dead fish washing up on its shores. It's a very real possibility and could happen this summer. "
