Avoid swimming spots warning over water quality

High levels of E coli were found in the water at Derwentwater

Visitors are being advised not to swim at two Lake District beauty spots because of poor water quality.

The Environment Agency (EA) said a high level of bacteria at Derwentwater, at Crow Park in Keswick and Coniston Water Boating Centre meant swimming was not safe.

Derwentwater was first designated as bathing water in 2024, but also received a poor water quality rating in the same year.

The mayor of Keswick, Louise Dunn, said bacteria levels peaked during high rainfall, which meant it was not "all bad news" as levels were "fairly low" at other times.

Dunn told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the EA was continuing to monitor the water, which would help landowners identify and investigate sources of pollution.

"In the mid to longer term the lake quality should improve and this will be really good for tourism," she said.

"Until now we have been swimming in the dark, so to speak. Swimmers can check the latest water quality readings on the Swimfo web site."

A sample taken on 9 July at Derwentwater showed there were 1,200 colonies of Escherichia coli (E coli) per 100ml of water and 140 colonies of Intestinal Enterococci (IE) per 100ml of water.

Tests taken on 22 July from Coniston Water showed there were 410 colonies of E coli per 100ml of water and 240 colonies of IE per 100ml of water.

The presence of either bacteria indicates there is animal or human faecal matter in the water.

'Not leaving human poo'

Dunn said the source of the pollution had not been confirmed but could have derived from human waste, animals or birds, sewage systems, septic tanks or agricultural contamination.

She said visitors to the area could help reduce pollution by "picking up after their dogs, not feeding the geese and ducks and disposing of campervan waste correctly".

"And not leaving human poo on the lakeshore - yes, really that happens," she added.

An EA spokesman said: "We are dedicated to ensuring that bathing water quality at Crow Park is improved.

"It is one of our newly designated bathing water sites.

"Several factors could be impacting its water quality, and we are conducting investigations to understand what they are."