Realtime pollution alerts needed on Windermere, campaigners say after boy nearly dies

"I noticed the water was murky. But I had checked the Environment Agency website and it came up as excellent water quality on Windermere, so I was reassured. It is terrifying. We were doing something that any ordinary family does on holiday. People need to know what the dangers are."

"Matt Staniek of the campaign group Save Windermere, which wants an end to all sewage discharges into the lake, said the human stories of sickness exposed how bathing water status for Windermere was not fit for purpose. There are four bathing water areas on Windermere which are tested by the EA between May and September."

A seven-year-old boy contracted a dangerous strain of E coli while kayaking on Windermere, requiring six weeks of hospitalization and two emergency operations. His mother had checked the Environment Agency website, which showed excellent water quality, but the water was actually contaminated. The incident mirrors the case of nine-year-old Heather Preen, who died in 1999 from the same E coli strain after swimming in Devon. Campaign groups are calling for realtime pollution alerts across Windermere, which attracts seven million visitors annually. Current bathing water testing only occurs at four designated areas between May and September, leaving most of the lake unmonitored. The family's experience highlights the inadequacy of existing water quality monitoring systems.

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