Anglian Water have recently completed work upgrading the water network in Norwich, securing future supplies for decades to come.

The £14 million upgrade to the network will enable the water company to secure resilient water supplies for people in Norfolk and protect the local environment such as the Broad Fen which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

This investment is part of Anglian Water’s Water Resources Management Plan, which plans to maintain water supplies across the East of England for decades to come. This includes changes to how the company sources its water, which will leave tens of millions of litres of water a day in some of the region’s most precious streams.

The scheme saw 16km of new water pipes installed from Horstead Water Tower (WT) near Coltishall to East Ruston Water Treatment Works (WTWs), stopping abstraction of water from four boreholes and the decommission of the WTWs at East Ruston.

This will help reduce the amount of water taken from the local environment by over 2 million litres a day, while being able to keep taps running for years to come.

Various techniques were used to install the new pipeline including directional drilling which enabled teams to insert pipes underground without having to dig up highly sensitive areas, like the Dilham Canal, the Bure Valley Railway, River Bure and the mainline railway – causing less disruption for residents and visitors.

Dodie Honisett, Project Manager for the scheme said: “Projects like this mean we can reduce the amount of water we take from the most sensitive places, protecting our local fens and marshes, while making sure everyone in our region has a resilient supply of clean drinking water now and in the future.

“It’s the continued investment in resilience schemes like this over the past 30 years, as well as driving down leakage to world leading low levels, and managing customer demand that means we still put the same amount of water into supply today as we did three decades ago, despite serving around a third more people.

“Our work doesn’t stop here: as part of our next business plan, worth over £10bn, our proposals will see us double our environment investment, making it our largest programme ever.”

The water company’s business plan for 2025-2030 is awaiting final sign off by the water regulator Ofwat later this month.