The reservoir will supply enough water for around a quarter of a million homes, as well as protecting the environment by enabling a reduction in the amount of water taken from rivers and underground aquifers elsewhere in the region. It will also create a new visitor destination, creating new jobs, and wider economic, environmental, leisure and health benefits for the local community. The reservoir is being developed in partnership with Cambridge Water and a formal public consultation period will begin on Wednesday, 12 October.
The announcement comes after one of the driest summers on record, comparable to 1976. This saw many water companies implementing hosepipe bans to conserve water supplies. Anglian Water was able to avoid implementing a hosepipe ban for its customers because of the significant investment it has put into reducing leakage, increasing metering and adding resilience to the water supply system over many decades, despite operating in a region that is the driest in the country, and one of the fastest growing.
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The project forms part of both Anglian's and Cambridge Water's long term Water Resources Management Plans and is linked to the wider regional plans led by Water Resources East. These plans look 25 years ahead, with the objective of ensuring the region is resilient to more frequent episodes of drought brought on by climate change, all while improving environmental protection.
Dr Geoff Darch, Water Resources Strategy Manager for Anglian Water said: "This project will build on decades of existing investment in resilient infrastructure – like a 400km strategic pipeline which will move water from the north to the south and east of the region, existing networks of reservoirs and water storage, as well as continuing to help customers to reduce demand and driving down leakage to world leading low levels. But we know, that to keep taps running in the future, we'll need more water storage in our region, in the form of new reservoirs."
After detailed work between Anglian Water working in partnership with Cambridge Water, the findings of a detailed site selection study will be shared as part of the consultation beginning next week.
Together with a panel of expert partners, the two water companies have been undertaking a wide range of assessments to identify potential locations for the reservoir. That includes considering impacts on people and communities, the needs of the environment, landscape, existing water sources, engineering requirements, flood protection and many other factors.
The initial consultation will run from 12 October until the 21 December.
