NORTH West water giant, United Utilities (UU) owns over one million acres of land in the Lake District, a request for information by Newsquest Cumbria has revealed.
Newsquest Cumbria can exclusively reveal that UU owns 1.66million acres of land in the Lake District National Park, after submitting the query.
A graphic supplied by UU with its response shows the large swathes of catchment land it owns around Haweswater Reservoir, near Shap and Thirlmere Reservoir, south of Keswick.
The map also shows three much smaller parcels of land owned by UU, one being Ennerdale Water where the firm owns a water treatment works.
In addition to the 1.66million acres it currently owns, UU has previously owned two small parcels of land in the Lake District in the last 10 years.
Land owned within the last 10 years is indicated with a red dot.
A UU company spokesperson said that the land it owns and manages in the national park "is catchment land around our reservoirs at Haweswater and Thirlmere.
"We invest in maintaining and improving these landscapes to help protect water resources, enhance the natural environment and support public access."
They said: "Much of this land is open for people to enjoy and plays an important role in recreation and tourism. As part of our ongoing commitment, we have established a dedicated access and recreation team and are recruiting new rangers to support this work."
UU is a major employer in Cumbria with a large headquarters in Whitehaven and is currently recruiting eight new rangers, two of which would be based in the Lake District.
When asked whether it intends to purchase new land in the Lake District National Park, the water firm said that this would be "driven by operational needs, alongside the availability and suitability of land opportunities."
Thirlmere Reservoir has been a vital water source for Greater Manchester for more than 120 years via an aqueduct.
The reservoir has also served about 80,000 homes and businesses in Egremont, Cockermouth and Whitehaven since 2022.
Haweswater is used to supply water to Lancashire and Greater Manchester, an aqueduct carries up to 570 million litres of water a day from the reservoir to Heaton Park in Manchester.
Water companies are required to provide information, when requested, under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR).
Share