Work is set to begin on Havant Thicket Reservoir this September, subject to Portsmouth Water receiving final permission to start the flagship project.

Havant Borough Council has this week granted planning permission for a new reservoir in Havant to secure vital and reliable water supplies for the future.

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.

Ofwat has launched a new consultation on proposed guidance and proposed licence modifications to the licences of Portsmouth Water and Southern Water to facilitate the development, construction and operation of the Havant Thicket reservoir.

Ofwat has today confirmed in its final decisions that the four strategic regional water resource solutions designed to serve Hampshire and proposed by Bristol Water, Southern Water and Wessex Water and Portsmouth Water have passed through accelerated gate one – its first checkpoint.

Portsmouth Water has gone out to tender with two separate contracts for the two main packages for the Havant Thicket Reservoir – the main reservoir and associated pipeline – as well as a framework for future works, with a total value of around £140 million.

Portsmouth Water has submitted its planning application for the £106 million Havant Thicket Reservoir the company wants to build in collaboration with Southern Water, to safeguard water resources for the South East.

During the last three months Portsmouth Water has been carrying out surveys along the proposed route of the pipeline needed to pump water to and from the proposed new £106 million reservoir at Havant Thicket.

Portsmouth Water has published a summary of the views it heard during its recent public consultation on plans for the new Havant Thicket Reservoir in Hampshire.

Hear Bill Irvine, Lead Engineer for Portsmouth Water's £120 million Havant Thicket Reservoir project, outline the design and construction proposals for the project.