Stephen Trotter, CEO of Cumbria Wildlife Trust said:

"We are alarmed and appalled to hear of a recent pollution incident in which a large number of dead fish and crustaceans have been found along a 3km stretch of Cunsey Beck. The beck flows from the Esthwaite Water Site of Special Scientific Interest, near Far Sawrey, into Windermere and it connects these two important water-bodies.

Many species of fish including rare and threatened salmon and eels, as well as white-clawed crayfish (which is an endangered and legally-protected freshwater crustacean) have been found dead along the full length of the beck.

Investigations are continuing into the cause of the incident and whilst we await confirmation of the results, the early findings seem to indicate the likely cause is the release of untreated sewage directly into the beck.

It is important that the incident is fully investigated by the Environment Agency to identify what has happened, the nature of the contamination and its source – and to learn the lessons of this catastrophic event to reduce the risk of future incidents occurring in the Windermere catchment. 

This seems to be a serious environmental and ecological incident, and the Beck may take a significant amount of time to recover.  It also seems highly likely that a major pulse of pollution could have entered Windermere itself.

Given the already poor and declining condition of water quality and wildlife in Windermere - due to high levels of nutrient pollution and increasing water temperatures over recent years - any additional nutrients from spills of untreated sewage or other sources are a matter of grave concern.

We look forward to seeing the results of the Environment Agency’s investigation as soon as possible. Depending on the findings and given the apparent severity of this case, we would expect the Agency to be considering enforcement action if the source of the contamination can be identified - and taking other steps to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

The restoration of the beck and its wildlife to a healthy condition must also be an immediate and urgent priority.

This incident highlights the vital and pressing need for a properly-funded and effective action plan to improve the water quality in Windermere and to promote nature recovery across the catchment that drains into it. 

It is imperative that all of the relevant players invest and work together to protect and improve water quality in Windermere; nutrient input levels must be reduced and it’s vital that a healthy natural environment is restored across the catchment."