A water company has faced heavy criticism for pumping raw sewage into Windermere in the Lake District for eight days. Irish singer Feargal Sharkey has attributed the issue to “greed, profiteering, financial engineering, and regulatory incompetence” within the water industry.
According to a map from United Utilities, which provides wastewater services across northwest England, storm overflows at two water treatment plants have been discharging untreated raw sewage since August 22. One discharge is from the Near Sawrey sewage works into Cunsey Beck, which flows into Lake Windermere, England’s largest lake. The other discharge comes from Hawkshead Pumping Station, which also contributes to Windermere.
Operators United Utilities attributed the spills to “heavy rainfall” in the area, noting that weather warnings were in effect and that over 40mm of rain fell between August 21 and 27.
Storm overflows are designed as emergency relief mechanisms for the water network, discharging sewage into seas and rivers during heavy rainfall to prevent backups into homes.
There is growing evidence suggesting that sewage spills occur even in the absence of heavy rainfall, raising questions about the necessity of such discharges.
Campaigners challenge water companies’ claims that heavy rain is the primary cause of excessive sewage dumping, attributing the issue to a lack of investment instead. Former Undertones singer and activist Feargal Sharkey criticized the situation, stating, “Sewage dumping has nothing whatsoever to do with heavy rain. It is caused by greed, profiteering, financial engineering, and regulatory incompetence. Fix those issues, and you fix the sewage scandal.”
In an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today program, Sharkey was asked whether personal criminal liability for water company executives and the banning of their bonuses, as proposed in the new water bill, would address the problem. He responded, “Whitehall does not have a monopoly on this issue. Welsh Water, for instance, is the largest sewage dumper in the UK. Scotland has numerous rivers in poor ecological condition, and Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland has been poisoned to the point where it now turns green, similar to Windermere.”
