'They’ve been polluting it since its inception,' the Alan Partridge star claimed
Steve Coogan has described sewage pollution at Lake Windermere as a 'national scandal' as he and fellow funnyman Lee Mack spoke out to raise awareness of the issue. The Middleton born actor and comedian joined forces with the Would I Lie to You star, with the pair also due to appear at an event later.
"The privatised water companies, since they’ve been privatised, United Utilities, who is the biggest wastewater polluter in Windermere by a country mile, have paid out £72 billion in investor dividends whilst basically not maintaining the integrity of the lake. They’ve been polluting it since its inception."What we’re saying is they should reduce it to zero, there should be no pollution in Windermere, and they are putting out a lot of obfuscation to try to dilute that message.
Since the privatisation of the water companies in 1989, a total of £72 billion has been paid to shareholders by the sector, according to analysis carried out by Professor Peter Hammond, an economics specialist at the University of Warwick and first reported in the Financial Times. Professor Hammond examined data by the Water Services Regulation Authority and the Environment Agency, with campaign group Windrush Against Sewage Pollution , using environmental freedom of information requests.
Storm overflow systems are large pipes integrated into combined sewer networks, which automatically release sewage into rivers or the sea during heavy rainfall, to prevent waste flooding homes. The Save Windermere campaign says high phosphorus levels from this sewage are leading to a rapid increase in potentially toxic algae blooms, which damage the wildlife and ecosystem of the river.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Lego Lake District model to go on display in WindermereJon Tordoff, from Derbyshire, has used more than 200,000 Lego bricks to build the scale model.
Read more »
The lakeside location two hours from Manchester which ‘could be’ in Italy'Who needs to go to Italy, when you have such a lovely, beautiful lake so close'
Read more »
Lake District hike among the best in the world ahead of Inca trailLake District hike among best in the world ahead of Inca trail and Kilimanjaro treks
Read more »
Lake Maggiore tourist boat carrying 20 overturns, with one deadItaly's fire service said 19 people were rescued but it was still searching for some people reported to be missing.
Read more »