Latest news with #PeterHammond
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Shanklin and Sandown Golf Club tournament attracts 33 teams
A major annual golf tournament attracted 33 teams, including some from across the Solent. The event, held at Shanklin and Sandown Golf Club, featured the popular ninth Hole Challenge. Organised by club professional Peter Hammond, this part of the competition allows players to deposit between £5 and £100 in the pro shop. If they successfully hit the green and par the hole, Hammond doubles their deposit. If not, their deposit remains in their pro shop account until they choose to spend it. The competition concluded with a meal prepared by the club's chef, Liam Hill. The winning team, from Shanklin and Sandown, comprised Kenny Crane, Luke Hatch, Matt Taylor, and Dave Wilson, who scored 123. Each winner received a Titleist lightweight cart bag. The runners-up, also from Shanklin and Sandown, were Stephen King, Chris Lee, Ian Miles, and Mike Ward, who scored 122.
Sky News
01-04-2025
- General
- Sky News
Campaigners say analysis shows illegal sewage spills in Lake Windermere reach record levels
Sewage was illegally poured into the Lake District's famous Lake Windermere for a record number of days last year, campaigners say, citing new analysis. They looked at official data released by United Utilities to identify times the water company had released untreated sewage into England's longest lake, when legally it should have been treating some of it. The Save Windermere and Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP) groups counted 140 days of what they deemed illegal spills in 2024 across six sites on the lake. This was more than the previous record of 110 days in 2023, and higher than in any other of the three previous years, Professor Peter Hammond from WASP found. United Utilities disputed the findings, saying some of the data was "erroneous" and that the method was different to that used by the regulator. The company has earmarked £200m of investment to treat wastewater more thoroughly and stem the flow of the six overflow sites in question. Water companies are allowed to release untreated sewage into waterways when the network risks being overwhelmed, to avoid sewage backing up into people's homes. 1:37 The campaigners say United Utilities discharged sewage into the lake before that threshold had been breached. Other water companies in the country have faced similar accusations. Last week, Environment Secretary Steve Reed said the amount of sewage being dumped into English rivers remained "disgraceful", despite some improvements. Campaigners call for legal action Matt Staniek, founder of Save Windermere, said: "What's happened in Windermere is clear: shareholder profits have been prioritised over the ecological health of one of our most iconic and culturally important landscapes. "Bill-payers are being forced to cover the cost of a broken privatised system, yet even now, the proposed investment falls short of what's needed." The group is calling for United Utilities to be prosecuted. England's Lake District is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, based on the "universal value" of its scenic landscape that "everyone has a right to appreciate and enjoy". But the landscape has turned bright green as algal blooms, fuelled by the nutrients in large sewage releases, swamp the waters, campaigners say. United Utilities declined to provide more accurate figures when asked by Sky News, but said the campaigners had wrongly labelled spills at one of the sites, Ambleside, as illegal when the site had in fact complied with its permit. A spokesperson said they were "extremely disappointed" that the campaigners "refused the opportunity to talk through the data so that they can get a better understanding of it". "The methodology used by the campaigners is different to that used by the Environment Agency for its compliance assessments. "On top of that, erroneous data has been used, tags and naming conventions in data sets appear to have been misunderstood, and assumptions seem to have been made on whether different types of flow meters have been installed. "The methodology fails to use other corroborating information from the sites which would prove that spills did not occur. As a result, the numbers quoted are inaccurate." "We're committed to playing our part in continuing to improve the water quality in Windermere." It previously invested £75m to cut the amount of phosphorus entering the lake, which has cut the duration of such spills by 28% in the last year, they added.
BBC News
31-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Record number of illegal sewage spills in Windermere last year
Sewage spilled illegally into Britain's largest lake on a record number of days last year, an analysis of water company data by campaigners analysis, which the BBC had exclusive access to, used United Utilities operational data to establish when the company was discharging sewage into Windermere when it should by law have been treating some of campaigners from Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP) and Save Windermere identified 140 illegal spill days in 2024, more than in any of the three previous years. United Utilities told BBC News that the campaigners' findings were "inaccurate" and some of the data "erroneous". The company declined to put in writing, despite repeated requests, any specific examples of mistakes or omissions. Regulators Ofwat and the Environment Agency are both currently investigating United Utilities operations. Part of the Lake District National Park Unesco World Heritage Site, Windermere is home to more than 14,000 people and its scenery attracts an estimated seven million visitors per its pristine image is under threat. Regular discharges of sewage into Windermere have been blamed for increasing nutrient levels and turning parts of the lake green – so called "algal blooming." The BBC has regularly reported on discharges into Windermere. Last October it was revealed that a single pumping station had illegally spilled more than 140 million litres of raw sewage between 2020 and 2023. In 2023 BBC Panorama said United Utilities was misreporting pollution incidents. Earlier in March environment secretary Steve Reed called the amount of pollution entering the lake "a disgrace" and pledged to clean it up. Last week the Environment Agency said United Utilities had spilled 77,817 times in 2024, the highest figure of all England's water companies. Many of the spills will have been legal. All water companies are legally allowed to discharge raw sewage to stop the network getting overwhelmed and this now happens regularly during periods of heavy almost all pumping stations and treatment plants operate under an environmental permit which specify that they must process or "pass forward" a certain amount of sewage and rainwater before spilling campaigners cross-referenced United Utilities datasets showing when an asset was spilling against how much sewage it was treating at the time. The campaigners' analysis – which has been shared with and scrutinised by the BBC - found days when illegal spills appear to have occurred at each of six sewage facilities around the lake, which combined to 140 days in 2024. That's more than in any of the previous three years, as the chart below shows. The longest illegal spill the analysis identified was for 10 days from Hawkshead pumping station, which flows into Windermere via Cunsey Beck."This is an indication that their works have not been maintained properly or they're not being watched over properly," says Prof Peter Hammond, a mathematican and retired academic from campaign group Windrush Against Sewage Pollution. Prof Hammond's analysis of water company data has been cited by regulators and he has been praised in Parliament by water company executives for bringing problems to light they were previously unaware of. The latest analysis covers four years of data from six sites that discharge sewage into the Lake Windermere over a longer time period are impossible as United Utilities has only had made full data sets available since 2021. The regulators Ofwat and the Environment Agency have since 2021 been investigating whether the water companies have been treating enough sewage before they start to spill. The EA call it a "major criminal investigation" while Ofwat call it "the largest and most complex Ofwat has ever undertaken". Last week Yorkshire Water agreed to a £40m "enforcement action" after Ofwat uncovered "serious failures" in how it operated its treatment plant and network. Ofwat declined to comment on the campaigner's findings as their investigation into United Utilities is ongoing. In response to concerns about United Utilities the Environment Agency last year reviewed all of its environmental permits in the Windermere catchment and says this led directly to the water company tripling its investment plans for the area to £200m."We are currently carrying out investigations into suspected pollution incidents on the Windermere catchment and are unable to comment on these in detail until they have reached a conclusion," an EA spokesperson said when the campaigners' analysis was shared with them."Where we find breaches of environmental permits, we will take the appropriate enforcement action up to and including a criminal prosecution." United Utilities, which provides services to more than seven million people across north-west England, is more than £9bn in debt. Its chief executive Louise Beardmore confirmed to parliament in February that she was last year paid £1.4m including a bonus of £420,000."The methodology used by the campaigners is different to that used by the Environment Agency for its compliance assessments," the water company said in a statement."On top of that, erroneous data has been used, tags and naming conventions in data sets appear to have been misunderstood, and assumptions seem to have been made on whether different types of flow meters have been installed.""The methodology fails to use other corroborating information from the sites which would prove that spills did not occur. As a result, the numbers quoted are inaccurate."BBC News presented United Utilities with five examples of illegal spills the campaigners' analysis had identified using the company's data and asked for any evidence or explanation as to why they were not illegal. United Utilities repeatedly declined to do so in writing or on camera. "What we're seeing is the failure of privatisation. We're seeing a prioritisation of dividend returns over the long-term environmental protection of places like Windermere" says Matt Staniek from Save Windermere."The bill payer has paid for a service that has never fully been provided, and the illegality demonstrates that for all to see."Over the next five years bills in the United Utilities area will go up by 32% above the rate of inflation. On average that will mean a rise of £86 for the year that starts in April. Louise Beardmore said the rises will fund the "largest investment in water and wastewater infrastructure in over 100 years". For Windermere that's set to mean nine wastewater treatment works, including two that were included in the campaigners' analysis being upgraded and a reduction in the number of overflows discharging into the lake.
