Anglian Water hopes to finish construction on the Lincolnshire sections of a vital delayed pipeline later this year. The 205-mile project will take water from North Lincolnshire to Essex to deal with expected shortages in future.
The utility company says its importance “can’t be understated” in keeping the taps running, carrying 55 million litres of water every day. However, the £500m construction project has faced numerous delays, with pipes being stored in a field near Lincoln for months.
Work on the sections from Elsham in North Lincolnshire to Grantham will restart in the spring, Anglian Water says, and are expected to completed by autumn at the latest. They will be filled with water to supply customers at a later date.
The Grantham to Peterborough section will restart in summer 2026.
A spokesperson for Anglian Water said: “Like many other capital programmes over the last few years, our strategic pipeline was impacted by some significant challenges, including the wettest winter on record last year, steel supply issues caused by the war in Ukraine, and the pandemic when construction first began.”
Work on the Anglian Water pipeline will resume in spring
(Image: Lincolnshire Live)
The scheme is the largest infrastructure project that Anglian Water has ever undertaken. The east of England is one of the driest parts of the UK, with a shortfall of millions of litres of water per day, and climate change is expected to worsen that.
Pumping stations will be built at Welton, Waddington and Welby. Lincoln’s Westgate water tower will also be upgraded, and a storage reservoir will be constructed at Welby.
In their original application, the company stated: “The east of England is officially classed as ‘water stressed’ meaning we must make careful use of this precious resource to balance supply and demand in the region.
“To tackle this challenge, Anglian Water is taking a twin-track approach to planning for the future, reducing demand through reducing leakage, installing smart meters and investing in water efficiency measures whilst also looking at new ways to supply water, reducing the amount of water taken from rivers and boreholes.”