Feargal Sharkey to Join Strike Against Sewage · 8 April
The Save Windermere campaign will be joined by special guest Feargal Sharkey for their weekly strike against sewage pollution.
The strike will be held on Monday 8th April from 9-10am outside United Utilities Information Center, 8 Crescent Road, Windermere, LA23 1EA.
The next strike is scheduled for Monday, April 8th, and will feature special guest Feargal Sharkey, former Undertones frontman turned national water campaigner, who will be joining the protest in solidarity with Save Windermere.
This will mark the 23rd week of the strike as the campaign demands an immediate commitment from United Utilities and government to cease all sewage discharges into Windermere.
We need you there to help share our simple message: Stop the Sewage!
Save Windermere strongly condemns the inadequacy of United Utilities' historical and current investment plans in Windermere, especially in light of last week’s storm overflow spill data which shows over 8,787 hours of untreated sewage spilled in the Windermere catchment in 2023. This takes United Utilities total untreated sewage discharges to 27,786 hours since 2020. United Utilities is the largest contributor of phosphorus into the lake, exacerbating ecological and human health concerns, with sewage discharges fuelling algal proliferation, similar to the crisis in Mar Menor, Spain, which led to mass fish deaths in 2016, 2019 and 2021.
Moreover, Save Windermere criticises regulatory failures within the water industry, denouncing the Environment Agency (EA) as unfit and calling for a public inquiry into their oversight. This follows the recent BBC Panorama “The Water Pollution Cover Up”, which demonstrated that the Environment Agency failed to fully scrutinise United Utilities in relation to a category 1 fish kill, which occurred in a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Windermere in 2022.
The research of Save Windermere’s partner organisation, WildFish, highlights significant ecological harm from United Utilities' assets, while evidence from Professor Hammond of Windrush Against Sewage Pollution has revealed illegal spilling in the catchment, casting doubt on the adequacy of past and current investment plans - and whether these investment costs should be borne by the bill-payer.
Save Windermere is unequivocal in its demand for United Utilities to eradicate all of their discharges into Windermere, with this concept garnering increasing support from local communities and organisations. Drawing parallels with successful initiatives in Lake Annecy, France, and Lake Washington, USA, the campaign challenges the water company's inflated costings for this solution and calls for ambitious, immediate action. To evidence this, a neighbouring project recently completed by the water company to install 99 km of pipeline from Thirlmere reservoir to the west coast of Cumbria took just 7 years to complete at a cost of £300 million.
“We know United Utilities has been polluting our lake for decades and we know the Environment Agency is failing to hold them accountable for this pollution. UU’s next round of investment will not scratch the surface of what needs to be done and this is in the context of them returning £452 million to shareholders in 2023. They have run out of time. People don’t want this any longer. The solution is simple, stop putting sewage into Windermere.
Matt Staniek, Founder, Save Windermere
“The scary reality is that United Utilities is dumping sewage into Lake Windermere. Since 2020 this has amounted to a total of 27,786 hours. Our lakes and rivers are suffering at the hands of negligence, a lack of regulatory oversight and inadequate investment. I look forward to joining Matt and the Save Windermere team, passionate local people who are challenging the status quo, to demand a future where our environment is prioritised over profit. This cannot be more critical for the Lake District National Park.”
Feargal Sharkey, National Water Campaigner
