The UK is falling further behind on sewage pollution regulation as the EU tightens its rules to clean up Europe’s waterways, say critics.

More than 130 organisations take part in protest demanding government action over country’s sewage crisis

Campaigners have called for changes to how sewage discharge is recorded. Water companies currently only have to record how long sewage is pumped into rivers and not how much is released.

The illegal discharges into the Lake District’s most famous lake and the failure to report them is destroying the UK’s natural treasure.

A water company repeatedly dumped millions of litres of raw sewage illegally into one of England's most famous lakes over a three-year period, the BBC can reveal.

More than 140 million litres of waste were pumped into Windermere between 2021 and 2023 at times when it was not permitted, our analysis shows, and United Utilities failed to report most of it.

United Utilities become the first water company to be hit with a special enforcement measure by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) over failure to comply with transparency laws.

A director of England’s water regulator is spearheading a campaign that could make it harder for consumers to sue water companies that breach legal sewage limits.

Save Windermere, and other campaign groups who have exposed the scale of illegal sewage pollution in rivers, lakes and coastal waters over several years, are backed in their call for the government to trigger special administration by an academic who specialises in the industry.

A water company has announced it will spend an extra £156m in an attempt to reduce pollution in England's largest lake. Earlier this year the BBC revealed millions of litres of raw sewage had been illegally pumped into the lake in February. The founder of the Save Windermere group Matt Staniek said the firm's investment was the "bare minimum".

Water company, United Utilities, who spilt raw sewage into Windermere for more than a week has been accused of treating the data watchdog with contempt after withholding information. United Utilities refused to hand over information on discharges despite instruction from Information Commissioner’s Office.

A water quality campaigner says underinvestment in the sewer network is now threatening whether new development is possible around Windermere.

Proposals to transform a former water testing laboratory on the shores of Windermere near Far Sawrey into a new hotel have received more than 900 local objections, due to concerns over the local water treatment site's 'incapacity' to deal with the current amount of sewage.

A water company has been slammed after it has been pumping raw sewage into Windermere in the Lake District for eight days, with Irish singer Feargal Sharkey blaming water companies 'greed, profiteering, financial engineering and regulatory incompetence'.