Anglian gets green light for next step of water transfer

Anglian Water has received planning permission for the next stage of its water transfer scheme with work on a 70km pipeline due to begin in the coming months.

The company was granted permission by the three local authorities in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to start building the stretch of pipe, which will be connected to the first section running Lincoln to Grantham.

The project, which is the largest drinking water scheme in the UK for a generation, will move surplus water resources from the north to meet deficit needs in the drier south of Anglian’s region. The transfer will pass from north Lincolnshire, through Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, to Suffolk and Essex.

Rob Slade, head of strategic supply integration at Anglian, said of the company’s largest ever project: “Without the new water main grid, demand for water will outstrip supply and parts of the east of England could run out of water as soon as 2030. The importance of our work really cannot be underestimated.”

Despite having lower rainfall in the east of England than other parts of the country, Slade said the company was able to avoid imposing hosepipe bans last summer thanks to investment in infrastructure projects like this one.

Three pumping stations, a smaller booster station and a water storage tank will be included in the design as part of Anglian’s 25-year water resources management plan (WRMP). The WRMP sets out to make the area resilient to spells of drier weather and to mitigate the short and longer-term impacts of the changing climate.

During 2022-23 Anglian committed £124 million on the 500km  transfer to boost resilience of future supplies and reduce the amount of water abstracted.

The company broke ground on the pipeline in August 2021 and the scheme is scheduled to be completed and online in 2025.