A ZOOLOGIST has launched a campaign to stop water pollution in the Lake District.

Matt Staniek, from Windermere, has been overwhelmed by the amount of support for his petition which calls on all of Windermere, alongside the rivers Rothay and Brathay, to become designated bathing areas.

Addressed to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs George Eustice, it has now topped 6,000 signatures in a week.

The 23-year-old launched his campaign after finding out from a Rivers Trust member, who was taking water samples at the River Brathay, how serious pollution is in the water and how it is affecting wildlife.

“I knew there were different pollutants in the river but I never knew the extent to which it was happening,” he said.

“She said it’s really bad, full of raw sewage.

“That pushed me to delve deeper and saw statistics on the Rivers Trust website about how much was released from that one wastewater plant in 2020.”

In his petition Mr Staniek said: “I was disgusted to find out that raw sewage was allowed to flow into Windermere for 1,719 hours in 2020 as part of the overflow system at Ambleside waste management plant.”

He is now preparing for a meeting with MP Tim Farron and is in talks with the Freshwater Biological Association to receive data on fish populations in Windermere.

He said agricultural run offs was also big issue.

Currently Windermere has four bathing waters; Millerground Landing, Rayrigg Meadow, Windermere Fellfoot and Windermere YMCA, which all received excellent ratings from the Environment Agency.

And United Utilities said it had invested £40 million in improving both Ambleside and Windermere wastewater treatment plants, as well as upgrading its pumping station at Glebe Road in Bowness.

“We’re now able to treat much greater volumes of sewage to a much higher standard, reducing the frequency that the system spills into the lake during wet weather,” said a spokesman.

The UU spokesman also raised concerns about the number of private septic tanks in the area which are sources of sewage entering Windermere.

He added that investment was planned and agreed with its regulator, the Environment Agency, to ensure the ‘protection of the environment’ and that storm spills, when sewer systems reach capacity, will always be ‘necessary’ to prevent flooding.

“Weather patterns are changing and we are already seeing more frequent extremes of heavy rainfall,” said the spokeswoman.

A spokesperson from the Environment Agency, responsible for monitoring water standards, said: “The EA take their responsibility to protect the environment very seriously. The regulations are clear and are enforced robustly. Water companies know they have a duty to avoid pollution, and that they must act quickly to address failures and reduce damage if it occurs or face enforcement action.”

You can find the petition here