UNITED Utilities has announced a £40 million scheme to improve water quality in Windermere. 

The project will see the company lay a new 6.5km sewer and upgrade two local wastewater treatment works, in order to significantly reduce the amount of phosphorous in the lake. 

Phosphorous can cause algal blooms, which can reduce the amount of oxygen in the water - inhibiting aquatic life, and potentially impacting on recreational uses of the lake. 

A public exhibition about the scheme will be held on September 13, 2016, from 1-7pm, at the Belsfield Hotel, Kendal Road, Bowness-on-Windermere, LA23 3EL. Members of the United Utilities project team will be on hand to share plans and answer questions. 

The scheme will reduce the number of times the sewer network overflows into the lake during heavy storms. These overflows are a contributor of phosphorous in the lake. 

Work will begin in November.