Tim Farron on storm overflow spill hours, 16 June 2026

The statement

Instead, sewage was released into our lakes, rivers and seas for 1.8 million hours last year, and more than 100,000 of those were in the Thames region alone.

Tim Farron, 16 June 2026. Source

What the sources report

• Environment Agency, storm overflow spill data for 2025 reports storm overflow spill events, England (2025): 291492spill events^src
• Environment Agency, storm overflow spill data for 2025 reports change in total monitored spill duration, England (2025 compared with 2024): -48%^src
• Environment Agency, storm overflow spill data for 2025 reports average spills per storm overflow, England (2025): 20.5spills per overflow^src

Notes

The Environment Agency reports 291,492 storm overflow spill events in England in 2025, 35% fewer than in 2024, and total monitored spill duration 48% lower.

The Environment Agency press release does not give total spill hours.