Warning issued after tests reveal ‘really concerning’ pollution in Windermere
Windermere, the largest and most famous lake in England, has shown new citizen science tests that suffered from “really concerned” pollution.
The findings show the “hot spots” of the contamination defined in the iconic lake region and the harmful bacteria and phosphorus levels that fail in water quality standards.
Following these results, campaignists demand “decisive action” to improve the lake for both people and the environment.
Big Windermere Survey saw that 350 volunteers have collected more than 100 water samples from more than 100 places that have not been tested before.
Most importantly, most of the lake’s coastline failed in an intensive time for bath water quality standards, swimming and water sports for bacteria that cause disease in summer.
The tests also revealed phosphorus levels that exceed the expected standards. It is known that this pollutor, which is caused by sources such as wastewater and agricultural fertilizer flow, damages damaged algae flowers and aquatic wild life.
The Fresh Water Biological Association, which coordinates the project with Lancaster University, warned that rare and threatened species in the lake, like Arctic Char, face a “stable and devastating decline”.
In the light of the findings, Simon Johnson, the general manager of the charity, said: “The evidence should lead to a decisive action to improve water quality,” he said.
Windermere is one of the most famous lakes in the world, and if the problems in this “totemic” lake cannot be solved, he said it was not good for the future of other equally important, such as Coniston Water, but less famous sites.
PA news agency said: “An artist, poet, wild swimmer, motorized boat, scientific, ecological, cultural importance, only in all the social and ecological texture of the lake region intertwined.
“If we can’t do this right in Windermere, where do we do it?”
“When you see a favorite place, the water quality of this place is very important when I think that society is waiting and demand.
“I hope these results will put people better and faster to rejuvenate this incredible place.”
Windermere, a part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Lake District National Park, hosts more than 14,000 people and attracts seven million visitors annually and produces £ 750 million for the local economy.
However, it has been the focus of concerns about pollution, including waste water and private sewage treatment and rural and urban land use from the United Public Services, and the government promised to “clean Windermere”, one of the high pollutants.
The Citizen Science Test, which took place from June 2022 to November 2024, aimed to address concerns about water quality and fill the gaps in traditional monitoring.
The Environmental Agency is currently following the water quality in the summer months around the lake as part of bath water evaluations and all receive “excellent” ratings in the last year classification.
However, the Big Windermere research used data from 71 sample zones on the coastline of the lake to evaluate the prevalence of two types of bacteria that may cause disease through tests throughout the year.
The data show that the bacterial levels of the general Windermere give him a “good çalı water quality degree, but the north-east, north-west and south-west areas, which will lead to“ poor ”or unsuccessful ratings for bath water quality of the northeast, north-west and south-west areas of the lake.
Only the Southeastern Lake Basin has concentrations of these bacteria, which can come from untreated sewage, untreated sewage, livestock, animal husbandry and wildlife in the Southeast Lake Basin.
Windermere’s both northern and southern basins are classified as part of the standards that all water bodies reach good ecological status until 2027, as part of the latest official evaluation as “good” phosphorus levels.
However, the report shows that all areas of the lake – when exemplified on the coastline – it has “medium” phosphorus levels, which means that they are higher than necessary to provide a “good önemli rating.
The report also shows that some sample areas constantly show at high concentrations of both phosphorus and bacteria.
These include Waterhead, Millerground, Bowness Bay, Belle Isle, Mitchell Wyke Gulf, South-West coastal areas and river places in Rothay, Stock Ghyll, Black Beck, Mill Beck, Mill Beck and Wilfin Beck.
Tatlısu Biology Association wants to urgently explore and dissolve the pollution hot spots determined by the test and to increase the number of bath water areas and monitor throughout the year.
The charity also wants to see investment to ensure that waste water facilities are suitable for the purpose and adequately monitoring, and the organizers can cope with pollution risks and want to finance to allow the big Windermere survey to continue.
