How Anglian Water plans to keep taps running in face of changing climate, through £1.5 billion business plan

Anglian Water has come up with plans – including two new reservoirs – to keep taps running in the face of a changing climate.

The £1.5 billion business plan aims to tackle the challenges of extremes of temperature in the UK, with the number of hot days (28 degrees centigrade) and very hot days (30 degrees) more than trebling in the last decade.

The company said the plan, which is being discussed with water regulator Ofwat, would need to secure the right level of investment for it to deliver the infrastructure the East of England needs to grow and thrive.

“The scale of work we’re proposing hasn’t been seen since the infrastructure revolution 200 years ago,” said Geoff Darch, head of supply and demand at Anglia Water.

“But it has the same aim of facilitating housing and economic growth by keeping taps running as extreme weather is set to become more commonplace.

“Without this investment, the east will face a water deficit of 593 million litres of water a day by 2050,” said Mr Darch.

The most immediate solutions include the expansion of a strategic pipeline network and preparations for two new reservoirs in the eastern region.

The pipeline is well under way and, when completed, will be longer than the M1 motorway.

It will see hundreds of kilometres of large diameter water mains laid, enabling water to be moved more easily to where it is needed most.

The reservoirs, one in the Fens and the other in Lincolnshire, are longer term projects but, by the end of the 2030s, should be supplying water to 750,000 homes.

Mr Darch said Anglian Water was not concerned about hosepipe bans this year but it was clear that, in future years, the climate would change at an alarming rate, with periods of both severe drought and major flooding becoming more commonplace.

“We know the east is likely to see the impact of the climate emergency more keenly than anywhere else in the UK,” he said. “Building resilience for that has been at the heart of our long-term planning since the 1990s.

“It is vital now that we secure the investment we need. Investing in resilience now means that we’re ready to capture and store water when it’s plentiful and save it for not-so-rainy days.”