UK River Report #4: From Windermere's Plight, to Government Gripes and Sudden Price Hikes
- Federico White
- Jan 31
- 4 min read
Welcome back dear reader to the fourth installment of the UK River Report. In this month’s post, I will take you through some of the key findings of a recent report published by the Save Windermere campaign; call into question the commitment of the government to improve the health of our waterways and discuss some of the causes and effects of newly introduced water bill increases and the obvious concerns that will come with this.
Save Windermere began in July 2021 and is driven by the devastating impact of sewage on England's largest lake. [1] Campaigning for a public inquiry into the failure of the Environment Agency to regulate the water industry and central role of United Utilities in facilitating this environmental destruction, over 18,000 hours of untreated sewage has been discharged into its catchment since 2020. [2,3]
Earlier this year, the findings of a Save Windermere investigation into Far Sawrey Waste Water Treatment Works (WwTW), a focal point of the campaign for the last 2 years, were released, demonstrating its detrimental impacts on the ecology of Wilfen Beck, with annual invertebrate data for 2023 indicating a 75% reduction in species diversity downstream from the works where United Utilities inputs sewage compared to above. [2] This disastrous ecological decline comes as treatment at Far Sawrey WwTW remains woefully outdated, with evidence that it continues to conduct the same process of sewage treatment as it used in 1978, despite the vast improvements in the technology available and the additional strain of climate change warranting improved efficiency. [2, 4] Furthermore, its descriptive environmental permit which includes no set discharge limits for United Utilities to adhere to has remained unchanged since 1989. [2]
The failing of the Environment Agency to correctly regulate water companies such as United Utilities has meant these companies are permitted to self-report pollution incidents. [2] They exploit this loophole by reporting fewer cases of pollution to Ofwat, allowing them to falsely meet their targets. [2]
Although I could continue to highlight the major issues outlined by Save Windermere, I instead urge you to read their original report and donate to their campaign if you can, or help support their petition via change.org.
Please sign the petition!
Legal duty under scrutiny:
The Labour government is continuing action to appeal a court ruling which found DEFRA and the Environment Agency had failed in their legal duties to protect the Costa Beck, a former trout stream near Pickering. [5] Having been devastated by sewage and runoff from fish farms, the government maintains that implementing specific measures to clean up individual waterways is administratively unworkable, despite being required by law under the Water Framework Directive. [5]
How these government actions can be justified in the face of their election promise to prioritise the health of our rivers, lakes and seas may be an indicator of their intent going forwards. [6]
Clearly, if the Environment Agency requires a court order to pursue even the most basic and adequate regulatory action, there must be an upheaval of the status quo. [5]
Price rise piracy?
Average annual bills are to rise by £123 this year, making it the largest increase in water bills since the industry was first privatised. [7] Although this will vary significantly between regions, including a 47% rise by Southern Water and 29% increase by Yorkshire Water, with roughly 2.5 million households already in debt to their water company, there is real concern for how this will affect customers. [7]
Tackling the current sewage crisis is imperative, but it must be approached in a manor that considers those most vulnerable. The £4 billion fund to be set aside by water companies to support struggling households is a start, though given the scale of these price rises set to begin in April, more must be done. [7]
While water companies have committed further funding for investment in infrastructure, including reservoirs, there remains the question of how much shareholders will profit from these rises and what proportion of this new income will actually benefit consumers and the health of our waterways. This all comes as bills in Scotland are set to rise by 9.9%, with Scottish Water arguing the need to improve its infrastructure in order to cope with more extreme weather conditions, such as drought and periods of intense rainfall, induced by climate change. [8]
Evidently, if the wider issue of climate change is not properly addressed in tandem with better management of the role of water companies, farmers and regulators, our water infrastructure will continue to struggle; our rivers, lakes and seas will continue to be devastated by pollution and our water bills will likely continue to rise at an unprecedented rate.
Thank you for taking the time to read this month's issue of the UK River Report. I hope you found it informative. If you would like to get involved and raise awareness of river pollution in your area, please head over to the UK River Report website and check under the 'Get Involved' page to complete our survey, or feel free to get in touch via the 'Contact' page, if you feel you have more to discuss than the survey can offer.
With hope for the future,
Federico
References:
1. Save Windermere. The Plan to Save Windermere. Save Windermere; 2025. [cited 2025 January 30]. Available from: https://www.savewindermere.com
2. Save Windermere. Far Sawrey WwTW Site Review and Ecological Damage on Wilfin Beck. Save Windermere; 2025. [cited 2025 January 29]. Available from: https://www.savewindermere.com/news/far-sawrey-permit-review
3. Save Windermere. Stop the Sewage | Open a Public Inquiry into Water Company Regulation. Change.org; 2023. [cited 2025 January 29]. Available from: https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-sewage-open-a-public-inquiry-into-water-company-regulation
4. Jones JG. Spatial Variation in Epilithic Algae in a Stony Stream (Wilfin Beck) with Particular Reference to Cocconeis placentula. Freshwater Biology. 1978;8: 539-546. [cited 2025 January 30]. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2427.1978.tb01476.x
5. Laville S. Ministers to Appeal Against River Pollution Ruling Won by Yorkshire Anglers. The Guardian; 2025. [cited 2025 January 29]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/14/ministers-to-appeal-against-river-pollution-ruling-won-by-yorkshire-anglers?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
6. Horton H. Can Labour Clean up England’s Dangerously Dirty Water? The Guardian; 2024. [cited 2025 January 31]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/12/can-labour-solve-england-sewage-crisis
7. Smith C, Peachey K. Water Bills to Rise by £10 a Month in April. BBC; 2025. [cited 2025 January 30]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yd9qzx79go
8. BBC. Scottish Water Bills Set to Rise 9.9% in April. BBC; 2025. [cited 2025 January 30]. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdry6zldl6ko
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