New reservoir planned to help Peterborough cope with hot, dry weather

Anglian Water have announced plans to create two new reservoirs to help Peterborough and the rest of the east of the country cope with hotter, drier weather.

One of the two new reservoirs is proposed to be in the Fens and will see Anglian joining forces with Cambridge Water, the other will be located in Lincolnshire.

Plans for the project have been developing over the last 10 years with the water companies ready to share the findings of a detailed site selection study in the autumn.

The east of the country is currently officially in drought after a lengthy spell of hot, dry weather – although Anglian Water have said there are no plans for hosepipe bans.

Anglian Water’s reservoirs are currently around 80 per cent full.

The two new reservoirs could supply enough water for at least 750,000 homes, as well as protecting the environment by allowing Anglian to reduce the amount of water taken from rivers and underground aquifers elsewhere in the region.

“The future promises many more people, but far fewer raindrops”

Alex Plant, Director of Strategy and Regulation for Anglian Water said: “It’s plain to see when you look out the window right now just how precious water is. It’s the lifeblood of the region for our customers, businesses, agriculture and nature. The current situation presents an obvious backdrop as to why projects like this are needed, but the reality is because we’ve known the future promises many more people, but far fewer raindrops, we have been working on these projects for years, as we know how long they take to come to fruition.

“Getting these projects underway now means the chances of our taps running dry are significantly reduced, as well as helping us take a big step forward in protecting the environment by reducing how much we take from elsewhere in the region.”

“We plan to provide new places for people to visit and enjoy”

Hannah Stanley-Jones, Head of Future Resources Strategy for Anglian Water said: “These new reservoirs will supply drinking water, but they bring much wider opportunities. We plan to provide new places for people to visit and enjoy, economic investment for communities, and homes for wildlife. We have seen what a positive contribution our existing water parks can bring for the people living and working near them. We want to create the same with these new reservoirs.

“We’re at a very early stage in the planning process and have been carrying out detailed technical work to help identify the best locations for the proposed reservoirs. We plan to share where we have reached with this work in Autumn when we will be launching the first phase of consultation on our proposals."

A consultation on the new reservoirs, giving residents the chance to have their say, is being launched at www.anglianwater.co.uk/new-reservoirs