Testing by citizen scientists of a beck that feeds into Lake Windermere has revealed a huge loss in invertebrate life that campaigners say is being caused by sewage discharges.
Save Windermere and WildFish carried out testing for invertebrates in Cunsey Beck, a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), in order to assess the impact on its freshwater ecology of the Near Sawrey wastewater treatment works, owned and operated by United Utilities.
Their first year results showed a decline of 76% in riverfly species and a 33% reduction in riverfly diversity in samples taken below the sewage outlet compared with samples taken above it.
They said the permit issued by the Environment Agency – outlining when raw sewage can be discharged legally from the treatment works and providing limits for toxic pollutants – is not fit for purpose.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Testing by citizen scientists of a beck that feeds into Windermere has revealed a huge loss in invertebrate life in the lake in Cumbria that campaigners say is being caused by sewage discharges.
Save Windermere and WildFish carried out testing for invertebrates in Cunsey Beck, a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), in order to assess the impact on its freshwater ecology of the Near Sawrey wastewater treatment works, owned and operated by United Utilities.
They said the permit issued by the Environment Agency – outlining when raw sewage can be discharged legally from the treatment works and providing limits for toxic pollutants – is not fit for purpose.
The stream was hit by a serious pollution event in 2022 that killed hundreds of fish, while Lake Windermere has become the focus of national concerns over sewage dumping and extensive algae.
But despite the plight of the stream, which feeds directly into Lake Windermere, the campaigners say the agency has not carried out any invertebrate sample testing in the river for 10 years.
Vaughan Lewis, an ecologist from Wasp, said: “The data from our SmartRivers monitoring shows freshwater invertebrates are being negatively impacted by water quality in the Windermere catchment, and this is particularly apparent downstream of United Utilities assets.
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