Northern Ireland-headquartered Farrans has helped deliver a key milestone in Anglian Water's Strategic Pipeline Alliance (SPA), with the completion of pipelaying across the southern section of the scheme between Bexwell and Colchester.

A total of 127 kilometres of interconnecting pipeline has now been installed, forming part of a wider network stretching from North Lincolnshire to Essex. The full grid, which is due to go into supply before the end of the decade, will be longer than the M1 and is designed to transfer up to 55 million litres of water daily across the region to meet growing demand.

SPA, which includes Anglian Water, Costain, Farrans, Jacobs and Mott MacDonald Bentley (MMB), is delivering what is recognised as the UK’s largest drinking water infrastructure project in a generation.

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Construction has taken place under challenging ground conditions, particularly in the Fenlands, where teams carefully managed water levels year-round. Alongside the main pipeline, supporting infrastructure such as pumping stations and storage reservoirs is also under construction to facilitate water distribution across the region.

Work is nearing completion at the first large above-ground clean water storage reservoir on the route, located at Rede near Bury St Edmunds. The 20-million-litre facility—roughly the capacity of eight Olympic-sized swimming pools—will serve the town and surrounding areas, including Ipswich and Colchester.

Environmental management has been integral throughout the programme, with teams working around protected habitats and species. Land reinstatement is now underway as the project transitions towards handover to local landowners and communities.

The Strategic Pipeline forms part of Anglian Water’s wider £11bn capital programme, which includes plans to construct two new reservoirs by the end of the decade.