A WINDERMERE resident asked if a beck 'should really be this colour' when she spotted that it had turned grey.

Shirley Crisp saw the discoloured beck, which runs down the perimeter of Windermere Junior and Infant School between Princes Road and Oldfield Road, on Thursday afternoon.

The Westmorland Gazette: Matt Staniek that the sample he took 'smelled of sewage' Matt Staniek that the sample he took 'smelled of sewage' (Image: Shirley Crisp) 

She said it looked 'pretty grim.'

Matt Staniek, who runs the Save Windermere group which campaigns to end water pollution in the area, said he had taken a sample at 6.10pm on Thursday and that it 'smelled of sewage.' 

He later added: "Discolouration had cleared by the time I was there so was back to running clear. The sample smelt like sewage. It was passed to Windermere Town Council Water Group who I have helped advise on their new project following our work with other local groups. 

"The site in question is one I have concerns with and have raised with them.

"Hand-held Hanna testers showed 0.18ppm Ammonia 0.10ppm phosphate which tends to be indicative of sewage. It's not clear at this point where the source is." 

Mr Staniek said there were no known sewage discharge sites in the area.

 

The Westmorland Gazette: The EA said that it had not been aware of the incident and urged people to call them when they spot potential pollutionThe EA said that it had not been aware of the incident and urged people to call them when they spot potential pollution (Image: Shirley Crisp)

"If members of the public see these issues we advocate for them to call it in to the Environment Agency incident reporting hotline first and foremost. Following this information should be passed from the agency to the water company," he said.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: "Wherever anyone, a member of the public or a partner organisation, identifies a concern with pollution they should notify us immediately by using our 24-hour incident hotline: 0800807060."