Securing water supplies for the future - Lincolnshire reservoir launches third public consultation
A new rail head for deliveries, re-routing a power line and a country lane are among the latest details to emerge as Anglian Water progresses plans for its new reservoir south-east of Sleaford.
Following the driest March to September period in the East of England since records began in 1899, communities are invited to share their views to shape a major investment in new water resources, with the launch of the third public consultation for a new reservoir in Lincolnshire.
The proposed reservoir is a key part of Anglian Water’s plans to secure water supplies for Lincolnshire and the wider region for up to half a million homes while also creating significant economic, leisure and environmental opportunities.
Alongside water supply, central to the plans for the reservoir are recreational spaces, areas for wildlife, and wetlands.
As well as the reservoir in Lincolnshire, the company is planning to move water from the wettest parts of the region to the driest, developing another reservoir in the Cambridgeshire Fens, and assessing options for desalination and water re-use projects on the coast.
The consultation is open from October 21 to December 16 and will provide new information and get feedback on how the reservoir could be built, including approaches to traffic and transport, infrastructure needed to get water to the new reservoir and power, and renewable energy.
At in-person events, visitors will be able to experience the proposals in new ways, such as through virtual reality, a 3D model of the reservoir embankment, and animations showing what visiting the reservoir could be like.
As many as 108 different sites were considered, and the chosen one means that a small number of homes and land will be bought or compulsory purchased from the owners.
Then the topsoil will be removed to reach the clay beneath. The soil will be re-used to build huge embankments overlooking the reservoir, creating 2,000 mainly locally sourced jobs at peak construction over the course of two years. A new access road will bring traffic from the A52 between Swaton and Threekingham which would later serve to access a new visitor centre.
Mark Malcolm, Reservoir Programme Director, said one of the ways they want to reduce congestion on the local roads is to build a new railhead – or siding – off the line between Sleaford and Spalding, just outside Helpringham to bring in the stone and other building materials.
The empty reservoir will be a colossal five square kilometres – the equivalent of roughly 700 standard football pitches.
It will then take another two years to fill, using water pumped from the River Trent, along the Fosse Dyke and River Witham before being piped into the reservoir at Holland Fen, conserving water
that would otherwise have been lost to the North Sea. Plans to use the South Forty Foot Drain have been dropped due to lower water quality. The reservoir will eventually hold about 55 million cubic metres of water, around half the size of Rutland Water.
It will be at least 2039 by the time work is finished, but Anglian Water says it’s needed to keep the water flowing in one of the driest regions of the country.
Mr Malcolm said: "We are designing it for a one in 500 year drought scenario and climate change assumptions, as well as drawing less water from valuable chalk streams to allow the environment to thrive.”
They are looking at renewable energy options for powering the reservoir including a potential location for ground mounted solar panels and opportunities for floating solar on the reservoir itself.
The major overhead electricity line that currently crosses the reservoir would also need to be diverted as would the Helpringham to Scredington Road, moving north around the site,
The water for customers would then be piped to connection points near Wilsthorpe and Chesterton near Peterborough.
Consultation events will be held locally at Helpringham Memorial Hall Nov 4 2–7pm; The Hut, Swaton Nov 6 1–6pm; Sleaford New Life Centre Nov 18 2-7pm; Heckington Village Hall Nov 21 10am–2pm; Billingborough Village Hall Nov 25 4–8pm; Scredington Community Centre Nov 26 3-8pm; Hale Magna Village Hall, Great Hale Nov 27 2–6pm
For more information visit www.lincsreservoir.co.uk