Anglian Water pushes forward multi-billion pound plans for two new reservoirs

Anglian Water is developing proposals for two new reservoirs, one in The Fens in north Cambridgeshire and one in South Lincolnshire, which could cost up to £3.3bn in total.The water company says the plans have been developing for a decade and it will be ready to show its findings in a detailed site-selection study this autumn, the first phase of a multi-phase consultation on the proposals.The new reservoirs will provide enough water for at least 750,000 homes and protect the environment by allowing Anglian Water to take less water from rivers and underground aquifers in the region.It is a timely announcement as the region that Anglian Water services – the East of England – is experiencing its driest eight-month period since 1976, only seeing a fifth of its average rainfall in July. Anglian Water’s reservoirs are part of its 25-year-plans, which aims to make the region resilient to drought.Although plans and locations have not been finalised for the two reservoirs, feasibility studies carried out by the company have been published detailing the concept designs for each.The Fens Reservoir, which is being developed in collaboration with Cambridge Water, is likely to be either to the east or west of the Ouse Washes to ensure proximity to water sources. It is projected to be 50Mm3 in volume. A best case scenario would see work start on site in April 2027 and water entering supply in 2035. Two sub-proposals have been costed, with a baseline option projected to cost £1.2bn and a multisector option projected to cost £1.5bn.The South Lincolnshire Reservoir is being developed with Affinity Water and though the location is less clear, it is likely to be near Boston so that it can capture water from the River Witham and the South Forty Foot Drain. Like the Fens Reservoir, Anglian Water is targeting a best case scenario with start on site in April 2027 and water entering supply in 2035.Three concept design options have been drawn up for the South Lincolnshire Reservoir. The first is a 52.5Mm3 multi-purpose storage reservoir, with 50Mm3 for public water storage and 2.5Mm3 for irrigation, as well as an adjacent 2.5Mm3 for flood storage. Option 2 is a 50Mm3 public water storage reservoir, and Option 3 is the same as Option 2 but with an additional 4Mm3 flood storage reservoir and three 1Mm3 farming reservoirs. Option 1 has been costed at £1.3bn, Option 2 at £1.5bn and Option 3 at £1.8bn.All of these figures are provisional and will be clarified as Anglian Water undertakes extensive consultation on the proposals.Anglian Water director of strategy and regulation Alex Plant said: “It’s plain to see when you look out the window right now just how precious water is. It’s the lifeblood of the region for our customers, businesses, agriculture and nature. The current situation presents an obvious backdrop as to why projects like this are needed, but the reality is because we’ve known the future promises many more people, but far fewer raindrops, we have been working on these projects for years, as we know how long they take to come to fruition.“Getting these projects underway now means the chances of our taps running dry are significantly reduced, as well as helping us take a big step forward in protecting the environment by reducing how much we take from elsewhere in the region. And these are just two of 18 strategic water resources projects being developed across the UK in collaboration with our regulators – Ofwat, the Environment Agency and the Drinking Water Inspectorate through the RAPID structure the regulators set up to support delivery of these critical schemes.“The reality is stark for the East of England. We operate in the driest part of the country and receive a third less rainfall than anywhere else in the UK, but we’re also one of the fastest growing regions, with 175,000 new homes to be built in the next five years. Without action we will face a water deficit of millions of litres a day within the next five years – let alone 25 years.“Right now, we’re already working on new strategic pipelines to move water from wetter to drier parts of our region, installing over a million smart meters in customers’ homes to help them better understand their water use, and driving down leakage to world leading low levels – last year alone delivering five years’ worth of leakage reduction in a single year. These reservoirs will build on these demand reduction measures, and will play a critical role in securing water supply long into the future.“But we should be clear – while all of these projects cumulatively will help to keep taps running, they are necessary because the demand for water will greatly outstrip the available supply unless we take action now, which is why we still all need to do our bit to use less.”There hasn’t been a new reservoir in the UK for 30 years, the most recently completed being Severn Trent Water’s Carsington Water in Derbyshire which was finished in 1992. Portsmouth Water’s Havant Thicket Reservoir is currently in development and expected to be open in 2029.