Water firm behind spills says fixes will take time
Save WindermereThe water firm responsible for sewage spills in England's biggest lake has said its issues cannot be fixed instantly.
Last year United Utilities was accused of failing to report more than 100 million litres of untreated sewage it illegally dumped in Windermere, in the Lake District, over three years.
CEO Louise Beardmore faced questions by MPs on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) committee on the company's track record of spills.
She said an increase in spills last year was "heartbreaking" and her company needed to improve.
"Our performance isn't good enough... we have one of the highest rates of internal sewer flooding across the country," she said.
A higher level of rainfall in north-west England was partly to blame for the region experiencing more flash flooding and a greater number of power cuts.
"It is not something we're going to be able to fix instantly," Ms Beardmore said.
She said it would take a series of infrastructure programmes to fix the problem and United Utilities had fast-tracked a programme to rebuild its wastewater treatment works around Windermere and improve water quality.
In 2022 people were warned to avoid going into Windermere during a bloom of green algae which campaigners believe was caused by sewage released into the lake.
United Utilities is set to increase consumer bills by 32% over the next five years, which will help pay for a £13.7bn investment plan in the wider region.
Ms Beardmore also justified her £1.4m pay packet last year, which was made up of a £690,000 base salary, plus benefits, bonuses and share awards.
"Shareholders are entirely paying for that so it's not passed onto customers in terms of customer bills," she said.
"I think we're all very alive to the issue of remuneration and trust in the sector and the changes that need to follow."