A village near Boston is set for a £3.1m upgrade to its water pipes – though, motorists are being told to expect disruption during some of the works.

Old Leake is to have 4.5km of its water pipes replaced to ensure, as Anglian Water puts it, ‘water supplies are safe and reliable for decades to come’.

The water company sends almost a billion litres of clean and healthy drinking water to its customers every day. In order to achieve this, it says, the infrastructure needs maintenance and investment to ensure the taps can keep running over the next few decades.

When pipes get old, it says, they are more likely to burst or leak – meaning customers could experience low pressures or interruptions to their water supplies. With the added pressure of a changing climate, more aging water mains are at risk of failing under extreme weather conditions, the company says.

placeholder image — Logo. Image: Anglian Water.

The scheme is expected to be completed next summer, with 85 per cent of the new pipe being replaced by using an innovative technique called directional drilling. This will allow the company to install pipes underground without the need to dig open trenches, thereby reducing its carbon footprint.

Once the pipes are installed, they will need to be connected to the existing water network. To complete this, there may be some interruptions to customers' supplies for a short period, it advises.

Georgia Phillips, customer experience specialist for the project, said: “We operate in the driest region of the country, but the East of England is also one of the fastest growing. As part of our Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP), this project will help make sure we can keep taps running and toilets flushing for residents in and around Old Leake for years to come.

“To do this work safely, we'll need to implement some traffic management throughout the project in order to keep our teams and members of the public safe. We’d like to thank everyone for their patience while we carry out this essential work.”

A map showing where the upgrades are planned to take place.

The WRMP, published every five years, outlines how Anglian Water manages current and future water needs across the region.

The work follows what may be the UK’s driest summer since records began, the company says. Anglian Water is continuing to encourage customers to be water-wise and keep supplies readily available for the region.

From capturing raindrops in water butts to placing a full load in a washing machine (saving up to 10 litres of water), little steps can really make a difference, it says.

For more water-saving tips, visit www.anglianwater.co.uk/help-and-advice/save-water/water-saving-tips/

Traffic management will be in place for some parts of this work. This will run as follows: