On Wednesday, the EA said its investigators had found that United Utilities had been spilling sewage from the local Cark pumping station into the river, even during periods of dry weather.

Water companies are allowed to spill sewage only under exceptional circumstances, when it is raining so heavily that the system cannot cope with the amount of water and effluent.

Matt and the Save Windermere team met with local swimming groups at the Holbeck Ghyll Hotel on the 18 April.

New film. A simple message. Stop the sewage.

New website. New brand. New film. We are here to stay.

Find out more about our campaign and what we are doing to end all sewage discharges into Windermere Lake.

Listen to an interview with Matt on BBC Radio Cumbria about new campaign film and the Save Windermere’s demands to United Utilities.

An environmental campaigner who is protesting against sewage dumping by refusing to pay part of his water bill has accused his supplier of “attempting to shut him up” by paying him £75 in compensation.

As momentum grows and the national conversation around sewage pollution in our waterways intensifies, the Save Windermere campaign is proud to unveil our new branding and website that reflects our commitment to protecting our precious lake.

What’s unusual is that the outrage cuts across traditional political divides, uniting everyone from laidback surfers to retired pillars of the community living in seaside towns who worry that the beaches aren’t safe for their visiting grandchildren. Born-again wild swimmers, evangelical about the mental health benefits of cold water, are naturally up in arms. But so are lifelong environmentalists, anglers, owners of tourist businesses dependent on the sea, and people who are none of those things but see in these murky waters another sign of national decline.

Water companies will face unlimited fines for polluting rivers and the sea under government plans to protect the environment.

Thérèse Coffey, the environment secretary, will announce plans next week to scrap the £250,000 cap on civil penalties for companies.

The Times reports from Lake Windermere, England’s largest lake, where the discharge of sewage is causing detriment to water quality and wildlife.

Matt Staniek, a local zoologist, believes that pollution does. United Utilities, the local water company, has a treatment works in Ambleside on the banks of Windermere. It released a blend of raw sewage and rainwater for more than 1,700 hours in 2020 — equivalent to more than three continuous months.

A water industry chief has admitted the sector has “genuine problems” with sewage pollution that need tackling and has said it is “pointless” for water firms to blame other sectors for the state of England’s rivers.

These incisive comments from Lord Reed, aimed at United Utilities’ legal counsel, particularly stood out:

“The striking feature of your case is essentially a breach of a rule of law, that your business model is based on breaching statutory duties. That is an inevitable part of the way you carry out your business, you tell us. Not only is the court meant to tolerate this, but those who suffer loss as a result of unauthorised behaviour contrary, we are hypothesising, to a statutory duty are meant to grin and bear it.”