Government ambition to end sewage discharges into Windermere
Source: gov.uk (2025-03-09)

Environment Secretary Steve Reed will today (Monday 10 March) set out government ambition to end sewage discharged into Windermere

The Government has pledged to work with local partners to eliminate sewage discharges into the lake including treatment facilities and storm overflows.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed will today meet with local campaigners to pledge his support to cleaning up the iconic site.

Visit marks start of Ministers’ week-long tour as part of government’s Plan for Change to upgrade our crumbling water infrastructure and boost economic growth using over £100 billion private investment.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed will today (Monday 10 March) pledge to ‘clean up Windermere’ setting out the Government’s support for the long-term ambition of ‘only rainwater’ entering England’s largest lake.

This comes ahead of a thorough feasibility study – established by the ‘Only Rainwater’ local coalition including 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.

As a first step, government is working on new methods to reduce pollution from private sewage discharges into Windermere. Along with new treatment plants and enhanced maintenance, the government is supporting the delivery of First-Time Sewerage schemes which provide a mechanism for owners of septic tanks and package treatment works to request connection to the mains sewer under certain conditions. This will be vital in consolidating the wastewater infrastructure in the catchment, enabling our long-term objective.

The Environment Secretary will also reiterate his support for local action and regulation to protect and improve water quality, including 33 additional Environment Agency specialist officers in the region and a quadrupling of water company inspections.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said:

Windermere is a stunningly beautiful national treasure – but it’s being choked by unacceptable levels of sewage pollution.

As part of our Plan for Change, the Government is committed to cleaning up this iconic lake.

That is why we are working with a range of local groups and organisations to stop all sewage going into the lake and restore it to its natural beauty.

The action forms part of this government’s work to transform the water sector and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good. This includes the Water (Special Measures) Act that will create a level playing field through stronger regulation alongside securing £104 billion of private sector investment to upgrade our crumbling infrastructure, boost economic growth and create thousands of good, well-paid jobs right across the country.

Following approval by Ofwat last year, United Utilities are investing £200 million to upgrade 9 wastewater treatment works at Windermere and reduce the spills from all 6 storm overflows discharging into the lake to 10 per year by 2030. Across the country, over £100 billion of private sector money will be invested into the water sector – the largest investment into water in history. This will help to upgrade and build new water infrastructure in every region of the country with sewage pipes, water treatment works and nine reservoirs, supporting 1.5 million new homes, 150 major infrastructure projects and power new industries such as gigafactories and data centres.

This vital investment is a good start – but in the face of climate change, we must go further and faster to protect precious natural assets like Windermere, which is why government is backing the ambition to eliminate sewage discharges into the lake.

Windermere, part of the Lake District National Park UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is home to more than 14,000 people and its beautiful scenery, rare species and cultural heritage attract a further 7 million visitors per year, generating £750 million for the local economy. The lake faces pollution from a range of sources including rural and urban land use, wastewater from United Utilities and private sewage treatment - issues that are being made worse by climate change.

The Environment Secretary’s visit to Windermere is the first of seven visits that he and Water Minister Emma Hardy will make on a ‘Things Can Only Get Cleaner’ tour this week, to see where investment in water infrastructure will underpin the building of new homes, create jobs and turbocharge local economies – a cornerstone of the government’s Plan for Change.

The government also confirmed today that locally led schemes to clean up waterways are set to receive up to £11m, with money based on water company fines and penalties ringfenced to deliver local water projects. Applicants to the Water Restoration Fund, including some in the Lake District, will be notified today. Successful projects will begin this year and focus on improving the water environment in the same regions where the fines and penalties were issued. This could include projects to restore waters to good ecological status; support biodiversity in water-dependent habitats and build resilience to climate change.