Funds raised for Windermere water quality improvement scheme

A charity aims to raise £40,000 to clean up Windermere with local donors pledging to match it

A charity has raised more than £16,400 for a project to improve the biodiversity and water quality of England's largest lake.

The Lake District Foundation aims to raise £40,000 to clean up Windermere, which has been plagued by sewage and algal blooms.

If the charity hits its target, local businesses and philanthropists have pledged a further £40,000.

The project will involve planting 1.4 sq km of reed beds.

In 2022, zoologist and conservationist Matt Staniek, warned the lake was on the verge of "catastrophe" unless urgent action was taken to improve its water quality and tackle blue-green algae blooms.

The blooms make humans ill, reduce aquatic oxygen levels and can be fatal to animals, he said.

Mr Staniek said the blue-green blooms are harmful to humans and can be fatal to animals

Mr Staniek said the algae feed on nutrients from phosphate which comes from sewage from waste treatment sites, septic tanks belonging to homeowners and holiday lets and agricultural sources, such as run-off from farming land.

The Lake District Foundation has partnered with the South Cumbria Rivers Trust and Windermere Science Festival to raise the money.

It said the project would harness "reed power" to boost biodiversity, support water quality and reduce erosion at the lake.

Lake District Foundation chief executive Sarah Swindley said: "This wonderful lake, treasured by millions, is facing extreme environmental and climate pressure.

"We know the challenges that Windermere is up against, now it's time to take positive action."

The charity said the Lake District National Park Authority and the Reed Foundation had also pledged money.