Science and data
Windermere has long been a destination for tourists, since the Picturesque and Romantic movements starting in the 18th Century. Around this time, increased nutrients from poorly-treated waste started altering the phytoplankton (algae) communities as more people flocked to the area.
Nutrient enrichment has been a significant challenge over the last two centuries, causing an increase in algal blooms and deoxygenation of the lake at depth.
The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) took over monitoring the lake from the Freshwater Biological Association in the late 1980s and these datasets are immensely important for showing how conditions in Windermere have changed over time. There are however still many questions to be answered, especially surrounding the mechanisms affecting nutrient cycling in the lake, the effects of climate change, and how other potential stressors may affect lake ecology.
We are working with other independent scientific experts including Lancaster University and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology to start to answer some of these questions and develop research programmes to help us better understand how and why Windermere is changing. We will be using the best available evidence to address the following questions:
- Where are key nutrient sources in the catchment and how can we manage these?
- How do bacterial concentrations, which can potentially impact human health, vary throughout the catchment?
- What role may nutrients recycled from lakebed sediments play in affecting water quality?
As our research progresses and we have findings to share, these will be communicated on this website.
Useful sources of information
Blue Green Algae explainer: https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/cumbria-and-lancashire/blue-green-algae-in-cumbria-and-lancashire/
Current data on water quality and ecology from Environment Agency: https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning
https://www.fba.org.uk/volunteer/the-big-windermere-survey
Cumbrian Lakes Monitoring Platform: https://uk-scape.ceh.ac.uk/our-science/projects/cumbrian-lakes-monitoring-platform/
Storm overflow and pollution data: https://www.unitedutilities.com/corporate/responsibility/environment/reducing-pollution/storm-overflows/storm-overflow-performance/
Windermere SAGIS Report – This short report describes the phosphorus source apportionment data for the Windermere catchment that has been produced by the Environment Agency. View Windermere SAGIS Report
