Anglian Water turns tap on drought-busting initiative with Costain and SPA

The objective is to boost the region's drought resilience, enhancing its defences against climate change and water scarcity.

Infrastructure solutions company Costain is part of the Strategic Pipeline Alliance (SPA); other leading partners include Farrans, Jacobs and Mott MacDonald Bentley. The work is part of Anglian Water’s commitment to securing the East of England’s water supply.

The extension builds on the existing SPA interconnector work and will take the total length of the strategic pipeline to 580km. The new agreement will enable the crucial transfer of water from North Lincolnshire to dry counties such as Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex.

The East of England is one of the driest regions in the UK with only two-thirds of England’s average rainfall. It is also one of the fastest growing, with a potential population surge of one million people by 2045. Together, these challenges make the Anglian Water region particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including drought and flooding.

Anglian Water’s interconnector programme is designed to play a vital role in safeguarding the environment by reducing reliance on water abstraction from sensitive areas, including chalk streams, to create sustainable water supply for generations. This forms part of Anglian Water’s wider programme of work worth £11 billion – its largest ever and almost double that of the previous five-year period.

Since its appointment in 2020, Costain and its Alliance partners have had a successful track record working collaboratively, including cutting water use by 85 per cent and reducing environmental impact through adopting a low water commissioning strategy that used compressed, dry and clean air to disinfect pipes.

Sam White, managing director, natural resources at Costain, commented: “Anglian Water and the Strategic Pipeline Alliance have adopted and embraced a collaborative approach that has proven to be a breeding ground for innovation and efficiency on this complex but critical project.

“Alliancing models such as these are an excellent way of incentivising the entire supply chain to pull in the same direction for a common goal, creating a positive culture, upskilling workforces and adopting production thinking techniques that drive efficiency. We look forward to delivering new drought-busting pipelines that will improve the region’s resilience as it faces the twin threats of climate change and a growing population.”

Jason Tucker, director of commercial operations at Anglian Water, added: “As we head into the next five years, which will see us deliver our biggest ever investment programme, our alliancing model continues to be an exemplar in the infrastructure industry, crucial to our success and meeting the demands of a growing population and climate change. I’d like to thank our partners for their ongoing commitment to the strategic pipeline and interconnector programme as we embark on this tremendous next phase.”

Andy Alder, managing director of major infrastructure delivery at Anglian Water, commented: “The Strategic Pipeline Alliance has delivered over 200 kilometres of pipeline since its inception in 2020. This is a monumental project, and the team should be incredibly proud of what we have achieved together, as well as what we will continue to achieve in the next five years following the agreement signed today.”