MattStaniek
@MattStaniek • 7,938 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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Stop putting sh*t in our lake. The message is simple. I will be outside United Utilities information centre every Monday from 9am - 10am until a commitment is made to stop putting sewage into Windermere. We already have those wanting to join the strike so please head to if you have any ideas. Feargal Sharkey I would love it if you would consider joining me for an hour. Greta Thunberg feel free to come too…
MattStaniek764,924 views • 2 years ago
Blue green algae season in Windermere is starting to take off. With last year being the biggest sewage spilling year in recent times, I wonder what the summer will bring. If you see this, then I would suggest not entering the water and definitely don’t let your dogs near it. Just the other day, someone stopped me whilst I was recording with Countrystride and he told us that his dog was killed in 2010 from BGA toxicity in Windermere. It should be taken seriously. I’ve already received a few videos in the last week or so, including this one from yesterday morning. If you see algae like this, take pictures and videos and send them over to us on social media or by visiting our website
MattStaniek435,055 views • 1 year ago
🚨 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
MattStaniek359,116 views • 1 year ago
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
MattStaniek118,331 views • 2 years ago
🚨 OUR LATEST FILM is OUT NOW 🚨 Following a week of sold-out screenings, our latest film Origin — A Journey to Find the Source of Windermere is now live on YouTube. This film exposes the truth about what is happening to England's largest freshwater lake, sets out how we protect it for future generations, and marks a defining moment in time for Windermere. Please share it with your followers, friends, family, colleagues, neighbours — anyone and everyone. Every share helps us reach more people and drive change. You can watch the full film by following the link below 👇
MattStaniek39,490 views • 7 months ago
Here is untreated sewage being dumped into a Site of Special Scientific Interest from Near Sawrey wastewater treatment works. Not only is this a SSSI but it is also within a National Park and World Heritage Site. Those who are supposed to have been protecting our environment have failed. The Environment Agency is an ineffective organisation that does not show any desire to hold polluters accountable. This is yet another example of United Utilities' inadequate investment annihilating our natural world. What's going to happen following this? I suspect nothing. Business as usual here in the Lake District National Park. Over the last 3 years this site had spilled untreated sewage into this SSSI for 4823 hours in an unknown quantity (Prof Jamie Woodward ) Analysis by Peter Hammond from Windrush WASP has show that this site spills illegally. Env Agency NW have you ever prosecuted for this activity at this site ? Find out more about United Utilities sewage dumping in Windermere and our fight to put a stop to it by signing up to our website ⬇️
MattStaniek113,115 views • 2 years ago
Something is destroying this river. How bad is it? Make sure you watch to the end... We have been studying the rivers that feed into Windermere with our partners at WildFish to determine how impactful sewage is to the freshwater ecology of the Lake District National Park and UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳 World Heritage Site. As of today, we are now live with our first annual report, studying the abundance and diversity of invertebrates (insects) at 6 key river sites, with data collected and analysed by independent expert entomologists Dr Nick Everall and Sam Green . Some of the results are truly shocking. In this short video, we highlight our stark findings from Wilfin Beck in October of 2023… But the nightmare doesn’t stop there - read the full report at and make sure to subscribe for more updates very soon. The Times and Sunday Times covered this as part of their clean it up campaign just this morning Feargal Sharkey Windrush WASP RiverActionUK Prof Jamie Woodward
MattStaniek95,751 views • 2 years ago
What’s happening on the River Brathay, which flows into Windermere? Yes, you do get natural foam in rivers — but the scale of this, especially with the grey scum on the water’s surface, seems to be something different. Hopefully EA attends and samples. I’ve got a sample in the back of my car if anyone wants it. This was taken yesterday morning before the storm.
MattStaniek37,039 views • 8 months ago
Our latest message to United Utilities. Stop the sewage. Save Windermere.
MattStaniek19,507 views • 4 months ago
Now, THIS is exciting. Save Windermere has partnered with Map Impact and the UK Space Agency in what we believe is the most innovative data collection project ever constructed to study the inputs into Windermere. The project will use satellite imagery to study chlorophyll-a concentrations in Windermere. Chlorophyll-a is synonymous with phosphorus loading. Phosphorus is the key nutrient that’s causing the decline of Windermere. This satellite imagery will be used in conjunction with data from one of the UK's largest mobile networks, which will provide anonymised cellular data to determine the number of people within the Windermere catchment at any given moment. This will enable us to quantify the pressure from human activity (i.e., sewage) in the area and its impact on phosphorus concentrations in the lake. This will then be compared with other inputs like land use to see how impactful sewage is in comparison to these. To find out more, please visit this link and sign up for the website to receive key updates from the project as it progresses.
MattStaniek81,543 views • 2 years ago
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.
MattStaniek37,461 views • 1 year ago
⚠️ Is this acceptable in a National Park?⚠️ On Wednesday, 20 August, we witnessed this happening - right in the heart of the Lake District. At the same time, I was filming with Rob Dymott for his Leave Curious YouTube channel. I took Rob on an exclusive tour of the Windermere catchment to expose the truth: ➡️ Sewage is the biggest threat to Windermere ➡️ Farming being used as a convenient scapegoat ➡️ And how we can finally end sewage pollution and Save Windermere forever See it for yourself. Watch the full video via the link below ⬇️
MattStaniek24,411 views • 9 months ago
🚨 NEW campaign, NEW approach— and a swan attack?! Watch til the end…🚨 Today, we bring you one of our most ambitious projects yet, over a year in the making. For years, we have been calling for the use of existing legislation to connect people to the mains, yet United Utilities and the government have failed to act. So, we’ve taken matters into our own hands. This initiative, backed by Patagonia and local businesses, is a solution-focused campaign—the first of its kind in the area. Today, we are launching a new step-by-step guide for property owners with private sewage treatment plants & septic tanks, showing them how to request a connection to United Utilities’ mains infrastructure. This forms a key part of our 10-point plan for a sewage-free Windermere, which we published last year ahead of the general election. We have been told time and time again that non-mains drainage contributes to Windermere’s pollution problem. But what we haven’t been told is that there is a clear solution—using existing legislation to request that United Utilities take ownership of these systems. And here’s the kicker—if the request is accepted, United Utilities is legally required to pay for a brand-new sewer up to at least the property boundary and they've already been given the money to do it. Since privatisation, United Utilities has only completed one first time sewerage scheme around Windermere. This is the first initiative of its kind for Windermere, empowering people to exercise their rights under existing legislation and highlighting why mains connection is the most sustainable solution—not just for individuals, but for the future of our lake itself. We are now working with Chesters by the River, Neaum Crag Holiday Park and the Holbeck Ghyll Estate to advise them as they submit their applications to United Utilities. As ever, we do also need your help. Our clear demand to the government is a change to the outdated ministerial code, ensuring that the long-term ecological protection of Windermere takes priority over United Utilities’ corporate greed. Head to to contact those who can change the ministerial code and to download your free guide today. Big shout out to local business Lake House Creative and illustrator Jane Legge from Dots of Light for helping pull together this beauty!
MattStaniek26,974 views • 1 year ago
⚠️ Don’t watch when you’re eating ⚠️ Near Sawrey is a major untreated and is also an illegal sewage dumper Peter Hammond. The river it discharges into is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, in the heart of the Lake District National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Feel free to tag the new SoS for the Environment Emma Reynolds for Wycombe 🌹 More about sewage in Windermere on the link below ⬇️
MattStaniek17,568 views • 8 months ago