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MattStaniek

@MattStaniek7,923 subscribers

Campaigning to stop sewage pollution in Windermere. “Manifestly unreasonable” Environment Agency, 2024. Visit https://t.co/Z8svuQkFOO to join the fight

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This is the reality of the #LakeDistrict Beautiful on the surface but all you have to do is look a little deeper to see what lurks beneath the water… I don’t swim nor let my dog swim below pipes like this. Taken on a very busy day yesterday. 🫵⬇️

This is the reality of the #LakeDistrict Beautiful on the surface but all you have to do is look a little deeper to see what lurks beneath the water… I don’t swim nor let my dog swim below pipes like this. Taken on a very busy day yesterday. 🫵⬇️

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Sewage discharging in #LakeDistrict river. United Utilities doing what they do best. Video taken at 10am this morning on the river Brathay. The Environment Agency is permitting up to 1.1 million litres a day of sewage to come out of this pipe. This is making its way into Englands largest lake in a UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳 world heritage site and National Park. Save Windermere has made a new short film about this pipe ⬇️ Help the campaign by signing up to our website ⬇️ Feargal Sharkey Prof Jamie Woodward Windrush WASP

Sewage discharging in #LakeDistrict river. United Utilities doing what they do best. Video taken at 10am this morning on the river Brathay. The Environment Agency is permitting up to 1.1 million litres a day of sewage to come out of this pipe. This is making its way into Englands largest lake in a UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳 world heritage site and National Park. Save Windermere has made a new short film about this pipe ⬇️ Help the campaign by signing up to our website ⬇️ Feargal Sharkey Prof Jamie Woodward Windrush WASP

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While I was striking in Windermere yesterday, demanding an end to sewage pollution, guess what was happening in Ambleside? Ambleside wastewater treatment works was discharging untreated sewage into the River Rothay. This goes into Englands largest lake which sits within a national park and UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳 world heritage site. This cloudy concoction is full of everything from bacteria, viruses, parasites, to phosphorus. The water industry insists this is 95% freshwater, which, as you can see, is clearly not true. How much was released from this spill? We don’t know, as United Utilities does not collect volumetric data. We need an end to all treated and untreated sewage discharged into Windermere. More can be found here ⬇️

While I was striking in Windermere yesterday, demanding an end to sewage pollution, guess what was happening in Ambleside? Ambleside wastewater treatment works was discharging untreated sewage into the River Rothay. This goes into Englands largest lake which sits within a national park and UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳 world heritage site. This cloudy concoction is full of everything from bacteria, viruses, parasites, to phosphorus. The water industry insists this is 95% freshwater, which, as you can see, is clearly not true. How much was released from this spill? We don’t know, as United Utilities does not collect volumetric data. We need an end to all treated and untreated sewage discharged into Windermere. More can be found here ⬇️

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If you’re eating your breakfast, look away This site has been a major focus of our campaign to end sewage pollution in Windermere. Because of our sustained pressure: - The EA is reviewing a permit that has remained unchanged since 1989 - Tankering at the site has increased by 171% - The EA is now attending regularly to check compliance, after almost a decade of absence - The water company is now investing to improve discharge standards, after we highlighted that the treatment process was identical to what was in place in 1978 But this still does not protect England’s largest lake. The only way to save Windermere is to stop the sewage once and for all. Final video filmed on 15 February 2023.

If you’re eating your breakfast, look away This site has been a major focus of our campaign to end sewage pollution in Windermere. Because of our sustained pressure: - The EA is reviewing a permit that has remained unchanged since 1989 - Tankering at the site has increased by 171% - The EA is now attending regularly to check compliance, after almost a decade of absence - The water company is now investing to improve discharge standards, after we highlighted that the treatment process was identical to what was in place in 1978 But this still does not protect England’s largest lake. The only way to save Windermere is to stop the sewage once and for all. Final video filmed on 15 February 2023.

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Which lake is full of sewage? Underwater photos and videos were taken on April 24th and April 25th 2025 Stop the sewage. Save Windermere.

Which lake is full of sewage? Underwater photos and videos were taken on April 24th and April 25th 2025 Stop the sewage. Save Windermere.

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⚠️ WARNING: Not one to watch while eating. ⚠️ This is what treated sewage looks like when it’s discharged in the Lake District. You’re looking at the sewage pipe from Langdale Wastewater Treatment Works, where it enters the River Brathay. This site is allowed to discharge up to 1.1 million litres a day of this ‘treated’ sewage. I know I wouldn’t want to swallow this while out for a swim — would you? This was filmed today at around 17:25. Happy Easter from United Utilities.

⚠️ WARNING: Not one to watch while eating. ⚠️ This is what treated sewage looks like when it’s discharged in the Lake District. You’re looking at the sewage pipe from Langdale Wastewater Treatment Works, where it enters the River Brathay. This site is allowed to discharge up to 1.1 million litres a day of this ‘treated’ sewage. I know I wouldn’t want to swallow this while out for a swim — would you? This was filmed today at around 17:25. Happy Easter from United Utilities.

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United Utilities has turned on jacuzzi mode for Easter Sunday in the #lakedistrict ! The EA is permitting up to 1.1 million litres a day and up to 13 litres a second to come out of this pipe. Langdale WWTW, where the pipe originates, has no UV disinfectant, so this likely contains a whole host of bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc., that you don’t want to be ingesting if you’re swimming in the river. Visit for more information Feargal Sharkey

United Utilities has turned on jacuzzi mode for Easter Sunday in the #lakedistrict ! The EA is permitting up to 1.1 million litres a day and up to 13 litres a second to come out of this pipe. Langdale WWTW, where the pipe originates, has no UV disinfectant, so this likely contains a whole host of bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc., that you don’t want to be ingesting if you’re swimming in the river. Visit for more information Feargal Sharkey

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It’s 2025, and sewage is destroying Windermere

It’s 2025, and sewage is destroying Windermere

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Which is the healthy river? Both clips were taken yesterday. Both are rivers around Windermere, and both have septic tanks discharging into them. But one is used as a dumping ground for both treated and untreated sewage by United Utilities, while the other is primarily impacted by agriculture.

Which is the healthy river? Both clips were taken yesterday. Both are rivers around Windermere, and both have septic tanks discharging into them. But one is used as a dumping ground for both treated and untreated sewage by United Utilities, while the other is primarily impacted by agriculture.

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Can you spot the difference? Both photos were taken on 18 August 2025, an hour apart. Stop the sewage. Save Windermere.

Can you spot the difference? Both photos were taken on 18 August 2025, an hour apart. Stop the sewage. Save Windermere.

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Rivers in the Lake District National Park should not look like this. Point sources of pollution upstream? Langdale wastewater treatment works and Elterwater pumping station.

Rivers in the Lake District National Park should not look like this. Point sources of pollution upstream? Langdale wastewater treatment works and Elterwater pumping station.

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Which river is the water company dumping sewage into? Underwater videos taken on the 18th and 25th of August 2025. Stop the sewage. Save Windermere

Which river is the water company dumping sewage into? Underwater videos taken on the 18th and 25th of August 2025. Stop the sewage. Save Windermere

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🚨 Breaking News: Record illegal sewage dumping 🚨 Our latest report—produced with Prof. Peter Hammond of Windrush Against Sewage Pollution—has revealed 140 days with illegal sewage spilling from the six sites around Windermere in 2024 alone. You’ll hear United Utilities cry that the analysis is wrong—but they've failed to provide any evidence to disprove any of the illegal spills revealed in this report. The BBC asked them to explain why it was incorrect. They couldn’t—or wouldn’t—do it. The full report can be found by following the link below

🚨 Breaking News: Record illegal sewage dumping 🚨 Our latest report—produced with Prof. Peter Hammond of Windrush Against Sewage Pollution—has revealed 140 days with illegal sewage spilling from the six sites around Windermere in 2024 alone. You’ll hear United Utilities cry that the analysis is wrong—but they've failed to provide any evidence to disprove any of the illegal spills revealed in this report. The BBC asked them to explain why it was incorrect. They couldn’t—or wouldn’t—do it. The full report can be found by following the link below

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The full film can be watched here:

The full film can be watched here:

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Videos

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Parents are being warned not to let their children play in Mill Beck in Windermere. Following regular testing undertaken by Windermere Town Council, results have once again demonstrated sewage contamination entering the small beck that runs through Windermere village. For more than a decade, the Environment Agency has known about this sewage pollution. It has even narrowed the source down to a small number of locations along the beck, yet they have still failed to bring the problem to an end. The pollution has been attributed to misconnections, but no action has been taken to ensure the issue is resolved. United Utilities states on its website that, once an issue like this is reported, its operational teams will investigate the problem, write to local residents explaining how they will resolve the pollution and protect the local environment, and trace the source back to the property where the wastewater pipes are misconnected using techniques such as dye tracing and closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveys. If a misconnection is identified, the company says it will provide advice on the corrective work needed to fix the issue. So why haven’t the Environment Agency and United Utilities carried out this work and brought an end to a problem they have known about for more than ten years? Yes, it is ultimately the responsibility of the property owner to rectify a misconnection. But it is the responsibility of the Environment Agency to regulate pollution and of United Utilities to investigate and help identify the source. Neither should be acting as though this pollution is not happening in a river that is home to rare and protected species. This has been a known source of sewage pollution for more than a decade. There is no justification for allowing it to continue unresolved.

MattStaniek

15,537 просмотров • 6 дней назад

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🚨 Breaking News 🚨 Save Windermere has once again been involved in exposing United Utilities exploitation of Windermere. Today the BBC reported that in the last 3 years, United Utilities has ILLEGALLY dumped 143,000,000 litres of untreated sewage directly into Windermere from just one of their sites — that’s thethe equivalent of 23 million toilet flushes, 1,600 double-decker buses, or enough to fill Big Ben 30 times! 💩 According to the BBC, United Utilities claims they reported these incidents at Glebe Road Pumping Station as soon as they were aware, which suggests they simply didn’t know about the instances of illegality from 2021 to September 2023, despite it being their statutory obligation to show permit compliance. The BBC estimates an additional 24 incidents that weren’t reported at the time could have cost the company £2.5 million through lower rewards or greater penalties. You might be thinking, where’s the Environment Agency? Isn’t this their job? Well, once again, they’ve turned a blind eye. They’ve failed to ask for the data, failed to hold United Utilities accountable and failed to protect Windermere from this predatory behaviour. We need your help to stop this 🫵 👊 Tag Keir Starmer 👊 Email Keir Starmer 👊 Share the video with the hashtag #savewindermere Let’s try and get this trending. Keir Starmer has often spoken about his love for the Lake District. Now it’s time for him to put his money where his mouth is and end sewage pollution in Windermere once and for all. Windermere is a symbol of our cultural heritage, a key driver of the local and national economy, and a sanctuary for rare and protected wildlife. This is a national and international disgrace, one of the country’s greatest natural treasures is being exploited by the multi-billion pound private water company. It’s time for Westminster to act. Keir Starmer , it’s time to stop the sewage to Save Windermere. Read the full blog to see how we uncovered this shocking story 👉 BBC article 👉 Feargal Sharkey Tim Farron Jenny Jones Chris Packham @RobGMacfarlane Craig Bennett Jimmy Carr Joe Lycett Windrush WASP Marina Purkiss Carol Vorderman ALASTAIR CAMPBELL Caroline Lucas Gary Lineker Surfers Against Sewage George Monbiot Led By Donkeys Hugo Tagholm Paul Powlesland Davina McCall Rory Stewart Bear Grylls OBE Simon Reeve Warwick Davis alex thomson

MattStaniek

359,173 просмотров • 1 год назад

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Last year, Save Windermere, in partnership with Richard Flemmings , embarked on a groundbreaking data collection programme, backed by the UK Space Agency , to study England's largest freshwater lake, Windermere. Well, now we are incredibly excited to announce that we have the results! And they are incredibly straight forward: ➡️ There is a direct correlation between visitor loading in the area and algal growth in Windermere. ➡️ Algal growth has been shown to worsen when lake temperature increases. ➡️ There is no correlation between agriculture and algal spikes in Windermere. ➡️ In the last 3 years, there have been single days where over 300,000 people were in the catchment. ➡️ Despite owning the vast majority of sewage infrastructure in and around Windermere, United Utilities refused to provide any data for this publicly funded study to help protect our lake. This work builds on Save Windermere’s growing, rigorous scientific portfolio working closely with organisations like Windrush WASP and WildFish but this catchment-wide study with Richard Flemmings , looking at the overall health of Windermere, has now clearly demonstrated that when more people are here, we see more algae in the lake and the climate exacerbates this issue even further. This underscores the necessity for a long-term infrastructure investment plan, which surpasses the current inadequate proposals, addressing both untreated and treated sewage. Save Windermere now has even more evidence that justifies our overarching campaign message; stop putting sewage in Windermere. This solution has been implemented in lakes all over the world including the famous Lake Annecy in France. Their lake is now free from sewage and is classified as the cleanest in Europe. Similar action must be taken to protect this nation’s lake forever. Our full blog can be found here which also links to the full report and analysis produced by Map Impact ⬇️ BBC News (UK) story here ⬇️ BBC Breakfast Jonah Fisher

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118,338 просмотров • 2 лет назад

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Who’s paying for the damage already done to Windermere ?

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112,387 просмотров • 3 лет назад

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Our latest message to United Utilities. Stop the sewage. Save Windermere.

MattStaniek

19,507 просмотров • 5 месяцев назад

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Today, we are a significant step closer to ensuring Windermere is protected for future generations. This is a truly historic moment for our lake. Over the last four years, our grassroots movement has highlighted the challenges facing our lake, and today, we have succeeded in bringing the government and all essential stakeholders together around a single, shared ambition: to end sewage pollution in Windermere once and for all. Speaking on the shores of the lake, Environment Minister Steve Reed made a groundbreaking commitment: “The government has pledged to work with us and local partners to eliminate all sewage discharges into Windermere.” This milestone wouldn’t have been possible without you. To our supporters, volunteers, businesses, and organisations who stood with us—thank you. We also acknowledge 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. But let’s be clear—this is not the end. 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. We need you now more than ever. Stay with us. Support the fight. Help us secure a sewage-free Windermere. Together, we can make Windermere the cleanest lake in the country—preserving its beauty for generations to come. It’s time to stop the sewage. It’s time to Save Windermere.

MattStaniek

37,468 просмотров • 1 год назад