The UK Government has announced its ‘ambition’ to eliminate sewage discharges into Lake Windermere, and to tackle water quality issues affecting the River Wye.
Lake Windermere has been suffering from unacceptable levels of sewage pollution affecting all water users.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed pledged to ‘clean up Windermere’ setting out a long-term ambition of ‘only rainwater’ entering England’s largest lake.
Windermere is popular with paddlers, and watersports companies rely on clean water for their livelihoods.
The government said it is working on new methods to reduce pollution from private sewage discharges into Windermere, in the first instance.
Thirty three additional Environment Agency specialist officers will be installed in the region and there will be a quadrupling of water company inspections.
‘Transforming the Wye’
The River Wye has also seen pollution impact people who live along the banks and precious local wildlife, as well as recreational users of the waterway.
The UK and Welsh Government will unite in a £1 million fund to ‘transform’ the Wye by investigating the sources of the pollution and pressures affecting the river.
They will also study the impacts of changing farming practices and land management and develop and test new ways to improve water quality.
Paddle UK and Paddle Cymru welcomes the joint initiative by the Governments of Wales and England to investigate the sources and impacts of pollution in the River Wye.
Phil Stone, Access and Environment Lead for Paddle Cymru, stated:
“Our members are passionate about improving the water quality of our blue spaces.
“The River Wye is one of the UK’s most iconic rivers and remains a top-class destination for water-based recreation, despite ongoing water quality concerns.
“We are pleased to see collaborative efforts to address pollution, ensuring that the river continues to be enjoyed by many for water related recreation.”
