Raw sewage pumped into Windermere for 10 hours

Millions of litres of untreated sewage was illegally discharged into Lake Windermere, according to a report, which only adds to concerns about the levels of pollution in British waters.

- SHWETA SHARMA

Raw sewage was pumped into the lake for nearly 10 hours in February after a telecommunication failure at a pumping station operated by United Utilities, a major water and wastewater services provider in the North West.

The discharge happened at the company’s pumping station at Bowness-on-Windermere in Cumbria on the night of 28 February and intermittently the following day.

The emergency pumps discharged more than 10 million litres of raw sewage into the lake after the main pumps abruptly stopped due to a telecom fault, insiders at the firm told BBC News, whose report also cited internal documents from the company.

Windermere, a Unesco world heritage site, is one of the country’s most popular natural attractions.

The incident was not reported to the Environment Agency until around 13 hours later. Failure to promptly notify the agency about such an incident constitutes a criminal offence.

United Utilities said in a statement to The Independent that it took “urgent steps to resolve the issue” and said it informed the Environment Agency within an hour after pollution of the lake was confirmed.