Anglian Water is planning to invest more than £500 million to build a Strategic Grid of new pipes to move water around the region more easily, significantly reducing the likelihood of severe drought restrictions in future.
The new Grid is among a raft of proposals for more than £800 million of investment set out in the water company’s draft Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP).
Anglian Water is kick-starting its long-term WRMP programme with an immediate investment of £65 million in the next two years – paid for through a reduction in shareholder dividends – on immediate measures to protect the region against water shortages.
The utility has launched a consultation seeking customers’ views on the Plan, which includes £250 million of investment to roll out money-saving smart meters across the region, tackle leakage and help customers become more water efficient.
As the driest region in the country, water resources in the East of England are under increasing pressure from a rapidly growing population, climate change and the needs of the environment.
The draft WRMP sets out the plans Anglian Water believes are necessary to manage water resources in future in light of these challenges, to secure water supplies for generations to come.
Plans to help make severe drought restrictions a thing of the past
The new strategic grid would mean installing more large water mains across the Anglian Water region to allow water to be easily diverted from one area to another to boost supplies if necessary.
It would feature a new main pipeline running from Elsham in North Lincs to South Lincolnshire, allowing millions of litres of clean, safe drinking water to be supplied every day to customers in Greater Lincolnshire, and further south if needed.
Un der the Plan, nearly every county in the East of England will see multimillion pound investment and new pipeline installations to join up the region. £44 million would also be invested to install and upgrade the Water Treatment Works in Elsham so it can serve the new, larger grid accordingly.
Aside from the plans for the strategic grid, £250 million of proposed future investment includes:
- £50 million to drive leakage down by a further 23% by 2025. This will take Anglian Water to a world-leading low level of leakage
- £180 million to roll-out money-saving smart meters to thousands more customers
- £21 million to continue Anglian Water’s water efficiency campaigns and initiatives with customers saving 30 million litres of water a day by 2045.
The plan also outlines proposals to work with neighbouring water companies to share water resources across the country.
Jean Spencer, Anglian Water’s Director for Growth and Resilience said:
“Ensuring we have enough fresh water for the future is the biggest challenge we face. Our draft plan sets out how we make the best use of the water we already have but also what measures we need to put in place now to become more resilient to severe drought and the impacts of climate change in the future.
“We already put less water into supply today than in 1989, despite a 34% increase in the number of properties we serve. That’s because we’ve tackled leakage, and helped our customers become more water efficient.
“One thing is certain, we will always need water. Continuing to manage the demand in the future will only be possible by working with customers, stopping more leaks than ever before and thinking about how the water industry can work more collaboratively in the future, she added.
Deadline to submit responses to the consultation is Friday 1 June 2018.
Click here to download the draft Water Resources Management Plan 2019
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