A water company is releasing sewage into a stream connected to Lake Windermere using a permit that has not been updated in more than 30 years.
The permit, which allows United Utilities to release waste into the national park site, is “unfit for purpose” and contributes to high levels of pollution and biodiversity decline in the area, according to campaigners.
The sewage being released has been treated, but campaigners say the “primitive” treatment methods at the site mean the wastewater is still harmful to the environment.
Discharge to bodies of water after treatment is normal. Pictured is a normal activated sludge plant, which should be capable of treating effectively. That’s the clarifier top left, chlorine contact on right, aeration/digesters on bottom.
It isn’t primitive. An imhoff tank and lagoon is primitive, but even those are perfectly capable of treating wastewater. It’s almost always that there is more flow now than the plant is designed to handle.
If they are staying within permit, it probably allows more inflow than the plant can handle and has too loose of restrictions on the outflow tests if it is causing harm to the lake.
And why is there more flow now than the plant is designed to handle?
Could it be because they’ve been taking our money for the last 35 years and giving it to shareholders instead of improving the infrastructure?
Water was a stupid thing to privatise. Even more so than the trains. It needs renationalising.
I’d love it if these reports had actions to follow up, send me to a petition, give me the email for the CEO of United Utilities so I can pester them with emails. Direct people to action not just tell people how bad it is! I’d love to do something about this, how can we?
Thank you! Exactly what I was looking for!
How can they have a permit unchanged for 30 years, and it not expire?
Simple. It’s called lobbying, but back then was just a plain simple white fat envelope full of notes. Some simple folks might call it bribery
