The Times: Pollution and climate change threaten Windermere’s Arctic charr
“Matt Staniek, a local zoologist, believes that pollution does. United Utilities, the local water company, has a treatment works in Ambleside on the banks of Windermere. It released a blend of raw sewage and rainwater for more than 1,700 hours in 2020 — equivalent to more than three continuous months. These kinds of spills, together with leaking septic tanks and run-off from agriculture, add phosphate to the lake. This fuels algal blooms. When the algae dies and rots, it sucks oxygen from the water and clogs the lake bed with silt, which chokes charr eggs.”
