UU and partners seek policy support for ‘beyond compliance’ plan for Windermere

(by Karma Loveday)

United Utilities – in partnership with the Environment Agency, the Lake District National Park Authority, Matt Staniek’s campaign group Save Windermere, the Love Windermere coalition, and Westmorland and Furness Council – has unveiled a uniquely ambitious plan to remove all wastewater discharges from Lake Windermere.

‘Only Rainwater into Windermere’ (ORiW) involves building 138km of new sewerage network to intercept all discharges from the ten wastewater plants and almost 2000 septic tanks around the lake. These would be transported away to a new state-of-the-art treatment works, where discharges to the receiving waters would be among the highest quality in Europe. This would involve connecting around 12,800 people to public sewers for the first time, with much of the tunnelling underground to minimise disruption.

But the scheme goes beyond being a new super sewer; there would be interventions across the whole catchment to deliver the ambition of only rainwater entering the lake, including 35km of highway runoff interception and 37 hectares of sustainable drainage.

Collectively, this would protect the UNESCO World Heritage Site’s ecological health from excess nutrient load and damaging algal blooms, and support its long-term climate resilience as water temperatures increase.

The coalition published a feasibility study led by Jacobs and Mott MacDonald last week, showing the solution is technically feasible. United Utilities also indicated it had investor support for in-house delivery, at a highly competitive cost of capital which would help keep costs down.

ORiW is priced at around £3.7bn and would take seven years from 2030 to complete, assuming funding in AMP9. If paid for solely by United Utilities’ customers, the price tag would be £3.17 a month per bill. However, in recognition of Lake Windermere’s international importance and iconic status as a national asset, the partners are keen to explore a national funding settlement. This would cost just 35p per month per bill-payer across England.

It is worthy of note, too, that a business-as-usual approach (incremental investment over many AMPs) would cost around £2.5bn and would not entirely eliminate pollution. So the additional cost of ORiW – which would eradicate pollution and protect Lake Windermere for the next 100 years – would be £1.2bn. Plus it would fully safeguard the £2.4bn visitor economy surrounding the lake, as well as internationally important species and habitats. Green Book-based calculations have identified the scheme would deliver £7.5bn in economic, environmental and social benefits – approximately £1.90 in value for every £1 invested.

If delivered, the scheme would also set a new standard for freshwater protection, going well beyond regulatory requirements.

As the feasibility study was published, ORiW hosted a Parliamentary launch, with a clear ambition to find political and regulatory support for the project – including potentially a national funding solution to support affordability for North West customers. Having demonstrated feasibility, investability and buy-in from an impressively diverse group of key local stakeholders, the next steps hinge on securing backing from the Government and Ofwat.

To keep up momentum, United Utilities simultaneously issued an ‘invitation to tender’ for the contract to conduct detailed design work.

• For more details, see November’s The UK Water Report.