It’s been two years since the hottest summer on record in the UK, where temperatures reached record-breaking highs of over 40 degrees in parts of Lincolnshire.
According to the Met Office’s latest State of the Climate report, extremes of temperature in the UK are getting much more frequent, with the number of ‘hot’ days (28°C) more than doubling and ‘very hot’ days (30°C) more than trebling in the last decade for the most recent decade (2014-2023) compared to 1961-1990.
Anglian Water has proposed its biggest ever investment into water infrastructure, totalling almost £1.5bn, to tackle these challenges, as part of its latest business plan. The plan is currently being discussed with its regulator Ofwat, but securing the right level of investment will be critical for the water company to deliver the infrastructure the East of England needs to grow and thrive.
Geoff Darch, Head of Supply and Demand Strategy at Anglian Water said:
“The scale of the work we’re proposing hasn’t been seen since the infrastructure revolution 200 years ago, but with the same aim of facilitating housing and economic growth by keeping taps running, as extreme weather is set to become more common place. Without this investment, the East will face a water deficit of 593 million litres a day by 2050.”
The most immediate solutions include the expansion of a strategic pipeline network and preparations for two new reservoirs in the region.
Anglian’s flagship strategic pipeline is already well underway. It is the largest water infrastructure project of a generation. Once completed it will see hundreds of kilometres of large diameter water main laid, to allow water to be moved around in a more agile way to wherever it is needed most. Once complete, it will be longer than the M1.
During the next five years, planning will also continue towards developing two new reservoirs – one in the Fens and another in Lincolnshire. By the end of next decade, they will supply water to three quarters of a million homes.
Geoff continued: “While we’re not concerned about hosepipe bans this year, it’s clear from the weather patterns in recent years, along with analysis of future projections, that our climate is going to continue to change at an alarming rate, meaning periods of severe drought and major flooding are going to become more commonplace.
“In 2022, aside from the East of England, many parts of the country saw widespread hosepipe bans, as water supplies were diminished. We’ve known that the East is likely to see the impacts of the climate emergency more keenly than anywhere else in the UK and building resilience for that has been at the heart of our long-term planning since the 1990s. Because we are always planning ahead, we avoided needing a hosepipe ban two summers ago or to take more water from the environment – we need to continue with the same momentum as we prepare for future challenges.
“It’s vital now that we secure the investment we need, as the climate continues to change more rapidly, and we prepare for more homes, jobs and growth as 720,000 new residents to move to our region. None of which is possible without a sustainable water supply. 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.”
