Portsmouth Water has confirmed the suppliers in the running to help deliver Havant Thicket Reservoir in Hampshire – the first major new water storage reservoir in the UK since the 1980s.

Following a pre-qualification process, the company has now issued formal invites to tender for the two main work packages – the main reservoir and its associated pipeline – worth a total of £140 million. Contracts are due to be awarded in March 2022.

The suppliers invited to tender are:

Main reservoir:

• Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd
• HOCHTIEF (UK) Construction Limited
• J. T. Mackley & Co. Ltd and Jones Bros Ruthin Co Ltd Joint Venture (Mackley Jones JV).

Reservoir pipeline:

• Clancy Docwra Ltd
• Farrans Construction, trading as a division of Northstone (NI) Ltd
• Roadbridge UK Ltd
• Ward & Burke Construction Ltd.

A framework is being created alongside the pipeline works package to facilitate the delivery of future work.

Havant Thicket Reservoir will secure critical water supplies for the South East of England, an area under serious water stress. It will also help protect environmentally sensitive chalk streams and create a new, green leisure facility for local communities and wildlife.

The scheme is being progressed under an innovative collaboration between Portsmouth Water and Southern Water.

At 1.6km from east to west and 0.8km from north to south, the reservoir will be built on a 160-hectare grassland site owned by Portsmouth Water in Havant, Hampshire. It will hold approximately 8.7 billion litres of water and be able to supply up to 21 million litres of water each day – having been filled in the winter from surplus water pumped from the Bedhampton springs in Havant. The reservoir is scheduled to be operational by 2029.

Bob Taylor, Chief Executive Officer at Portsmouth Water, said:

“This is a very exciting moment for the Havant Thicket Reservoir project, which is critical for safeguarding water resources for decades to come, while delivering a range of environmental benefits.

“The suppliers we have invited to tender have each demonstrated a proven ability to successfully deliver important infrastructure schemes, harnessing the power of innovation to achieve excellent results.

“We now look forward to liaising with these suppliers, as we prepare to award contracts for construction of the reservoir and its pipeline in March next year. Our goal remains to maximise the potential of Havant Thicket Reservoir, for our region, for our communities and for nature. This includes leaving a really positive legacy by creating opportunities for local employment and skills development through the scheme.”

Planning applications for the reservoir and its associated pipeline were submitted to the local planning authorities in late 2020, with decisions on permission expected by Summer 2021.

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