Defra water tour yields Windermere and Wye commitments

Last week, environment secretary Steve Reed and water minister Emma Hardy visited seven sites on their ‘Things can only get cleaner’ water tour — championing the incoming £104bn of PR24 investment along the way, and highlighting the benefits of water investment for growth under the Government’s Plan for Change.

Two specific new initiatives were announced on the tour: 

Only rainwater for Windermere

Reed pledged to back work to eliminate sewage discharges into Lake Windermere and set a long-term ambition for “only rainwater” to enter England’s largest lake.

This came ahead of the publication of a feasibility study being carried out under the auspices of the ‘Only Rainwater’ local coalition, which includes United Utilities, the Environment Agency, Ofwat, Save Windermere, Love Windermere, the Lake District National Park authority, and Westmorland and Furness Council. The study will determine what would be needed to eliminate sewage discharges into the lake, drawing on successful examples and innovation from around the world to create a roadmap for delivery. 

Underway already is a £200m spend by United Utilities to upgrade nine wastewater treatment works at Windermere in AMP8 and to reduce the spills from all six storm overflows discharging into the lake to 10 per year by 2030.

Defra said it was working on new methods to reduce pollution from private sewage discharges into Windermere, including new treatment plants and enhanced maintenance, and a mechanism for owners of septic tanks and package treatment works to request connection to the mains sewer under certain conditions. Moreover, it said there would be 33 additional Environment Agency specialist officers in the region and a quadrupling of water company inspections.

Save Windermere campaigner Matt Staniek welcomed the “truly historic moment for our lake,”  thanked his supporters and acknowledged “the leadership of United Utilities CEO Louise Beardmore and Environment Agency Area Director Carol Holt, who have worked with us in recent months to make today’s announcement possible”.

He vowed to continue campaigning until the clean-up actually happens: "While today’s announcement is a breakthrough, it is still just a promise. Nothing is legally binding, and we won’t let this urgent issue be kicked into the long grass. We must keep up the pressure until these words turn into real, cast-iron commitments.”

The Rivers Trust said questions remain despite the positive talk on Windermere. A statement highlighted: “It is key that we look at all sources of pollution entering Windermere and that includes not only the effluent from private and public sewage treatment, but rainwater that collects and takes with it pollutants from the hillsides, livestock and road run-off. We urgently need a properly integrated management plan that looks at the catchment as a whole living system. We will not achieve a healthy well-functioning lake by just concentrating all our efforts and money on one source of the problem, important though that source is.” 

Cross-border collaboration on the Wye

The UK and Welsh Governments announced a £1m research fund for the River Wye. The cross-border programme will:

• Investigate the sources of pollution and pressures affecting the river. 

• Study the impacts of changing farming practices and land management. 

• Develop and test new ways to improve water quality. 

• Examine what’s driving wildlife decline and water flow.

Hardy and the Welsh deputy first minister Huw Irranca-Davies made the announcement during a roundtable meeting in Monmouth with key stakeholders.

• The High Court last week ruled that manure from poultry can be classified as ‘waste’ and should be disposed of under council waste rules. River Action hailed the decision as a “landmark” in its fight against industrial-scale poultry production in the Wye Valley and said there would be implications on handling manure on farms everywhere.