TOURISM and wildlife could suffer if United Utilities takes water from Windermere when levels are low, South Lakes MP Tim Farron has claimed.

Mr Farron said for around 40 years Windermere and Ullswater have been used as reservoirs of ‘last resort’ as the water company used the purpose-built 19th century Thirlmere Reservoir to help quench the thirst of people living across the whole of the North West.

But earlier this year United Utilities announced plans to stop taking supplies from the wildlife-rich Ennerdale Water, in line with EU regulations, for those living on the West Coast.

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That means Thirlmere Reservoir could be used for the coast – and Windermere and Ullswater could be used increasingly often, said Mr Farron.

“The West Coast is not going to take its water from Ennerdale for good, sound ecological reasons,” said Mr Farron.

“That means the chances of Windermere being used shoots up.

“The fact is raw sewage is pumped into Windermere and if you lower the water levels then that becomes a problem for tourism and biodiversity.

“I am asking United Utilities not to take the water in summer when it’s low, but to pump it when there’s plenty.”

In the House of Commons last week, Mr Farron asked Dan Rogerson MP, Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether DEFRA would assess the viability of limiting the extraction of water from Windermere and Ullswater only when flow levels are high to reduce the risk of over-extraction and flood control.

Mr Rogerson replied: “The Environment Agency limits United Utilities to abstracting water from Windermere and Ullswater to periods when there is adequate flow in the downstream rivers.

“Recent studies of Windermere and Ullswater have concluded that both abstraction licences are sustainable.”

Mr Farron added that Kielder Water in Northumberland, which holds 200 billion litres of water, is ‘massively underused’ and should be introduced into the national network.

Polly Rourke from United Utilities said the company was not pumping from Windermere at the moment.

“We only pump water from Windermere when the lake is full enough to make sure there is no impact on either tourism or the environment,” she said.

“This is normal working practice for us and we have no additional plans. Thirlmere Reservoir is not connected to West Cumbria.

“However, it is part of a large integrated supply system stretching as far as North Wales, which has plenty of spare capacity to supply additional communities, if needed, with minimal impact on Windermere.”