A Cumbrian MP has called on the Government to act with urgency following damning region-wide sewage overflow data for 2026, which already highlights climbing spillage rates.
Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, made the comments about the Government’s handling of the sewage overflow crisis after reading data available from the online source Top of the Poops.
The independent website states that it uses Environment Agency data to produce the statistics available.
It does state that despite using official Government data, it is still able to make ‘some errors’, however.
Nevertheless, according to the website, Mr Farron’s constituency is one of the worst affected in Cumbria, with 424 hours worth of sewage overflows from 164 Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) in 2026 respectively, as of the time of writing.
In a statement to this newspaper, Mr Farron said: “It’s absolutely appalling that just three weeks into 2026, and we’ve already had sewage discharged into our precious lakes and rivers in Cumbria for a total of more than 1,000 hours.
“I’m afraid the Government are not acting with the urgency needed to tackle this scandal.
“We desperately need wide scale reform to the water industry so that the needs of the environment and bill payers is put ahead of shareholders.
“And we also need a new regulator with the powers to actually punish water companies that pollute our waterways.”
Other constituencies in Cumbria, such as Barrow and Furness, Penrith and Solway, Whitehaven and Workington, Carlisle, and Morecambe and Lunesdale, make up the ‘more than 1,000 hours’ of sewage overflows Mr Farron touched upon.
Responding to Mr Farron’s comments, a spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: “It is completely unacceptable that so much sewage is still entering our waterways and it cannot continue.
“While we welcome the progress that has been made to reduce spills, it is nowhere near enough.
“That’s why we’ve already banned unfair bonuses for water bosses, introduced tough penalties to clamp down on pollution, and secured over £10 billion to upgrade 2,500 overflows across England.
“We will shortly publish our Water White Paper which will set out long-term reforms to strengthen regulation, tackle pollution, and accelerate the delivery of vital infrastructure.”
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