£3.6bn giant tunnel proposed to end Windermere sewage problems

Image description: Landscape view of Lake Windermere, with sailing boats in the foreground, and trees and mountains rising in the background. Photo by JOGphotos on Unsplash

A £3.6bn proposal to end sewage discharges into Lake Windermere, England’s largest lake, has been unveiled. The plans, reportedly backed by the local water company United Utilities, the Environment Agency and clean water campaigners, would see a tunnel up to 12 miles (19km) long built to transport sewage away from the lake.

Lake Windermere’s deterioration

Windermere is at the heart of the Lake District Unesco world heritage site, with almost 18 million visitors per year. However, both raw sewage and treated effluent are discharged into Windermere, with the public recently advised to avoid swimming in the lake due to toxic blue-green algal blooms, which campaigners say are becoming more frequent.

Solution inspired by Lake Annecy

A broad coalition including United Utilites, regulators, the local authorities and environmental campaigners had come together to draft the proposal which is called “Only Rainwater into Windermere” (ORiW). Matt Staniek, a campaigner at Save Windermere, which is a partner on the project, said creating the feasibility report had involved weekly meetings over 15 months.

In planning for the project, the team reportedly considered the transformation of Lake Annecy in France, which is considered one of the cleanest lakes in Europe. In the 1950s, Annecy faced similar pollution problems, but the authorities invested in long-term infrastructural improvements to eliminate the sewage discharges.

United Utilities said the use of tunnelling techniques would minimise the disruption to local communities. The treated effluent would then be discharged into either the River Leven or the Irish Sea at Ulverston.

Financing the project

It is now up to the government to decide if the plan can be further developed, and if the £3.6bn price-tag is acceptable. United Utilities said the programme could add up to £3.17 a month to water bills in 2035.

If granted permission to raise bills to pay for the project, United Utilities said the project could be complete within seven years and would provide a “one and done” solution with an immediate impact. The project is now expected to enter the detailed design phase during which specialised engineers will work out the technicalities of the build, which is expected to take two years.

The Guardian: Giant tunnel proposed to tackle Windermere sewage discharges

The BBC: Giant tunnel proposed to clean up Windermere’s sewage problem

The BBC: Can a giant tunnel save Windermere?