The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A large new lake could be set to feature in the South Holland landscape.
Anglian Water says it is looking into creating a “South Lincolnshire Reservoir” with one of the options looking to build it somewhere between Tongue End and Deeping St Nicholas.
In its draft 2019 Water Resources Management Plan it says that future water demands “are sufficient to trigger the need for the South Lincolnshire Reservoir” which would have a capacity of 50,000 megalitres.
That’s the equivalent of 20,000 Olympic size swimming pools.
If it does come to fruition, the details of how large and deep the new reservoir and associated boundaries will be still need to be worked out.
The report states work would unlikely to be started before 2025.
The new reservoir would provide water for cities including Peterborough, Northampton and Kettering.
Pipes would need to be laid towards Peterborough and from the River Witham near Boston from where the water will be sourced.
Early estimations of the potential costs range of the reservoir range from £625m, and £985m.
Market Deeping Town Councillor Adam Bookes, says as he understands it, the plans would not be decided at a local level and would instead be decided by the planning inspectorate.
He said: “Now water is clearly a resource we have to share and where it is needed is often far from where it is available so I don’t have a problem with the potential for our area to host a reservoir which won’t actually supply us with water. We obviously benefit from a great deal of infrastructure that others have to live with.
“However, it will still be vital for Anglian Water to clearly demonstrate the need for this reservoir, that this would be the most suitable location, and mostly importantly, that it will be safe. There would be a significant loss of agricultural land, impact on the landscape, and disruption during construction.
A spokesman for Anglian Water, said: ”
An Anglian Water spokesperson said: “Our region has a rapidly growing population, it is home to vital industry and agriculture feeding about a third of the UK, all of which needs water to function. It’s also very dry – receiving about half the amount of rain compared to the rest of the UK. That means we need to plan ahead to ensure there is enough water to go around, both for us today and for future generations.
“In our recently published Water Resources Management Plan, which looks 25 years ahead, we explain how we’ll go about balancing this demand and supply of water in future decades. To do that we’re looking at a range of options, including the possibility of a new reservoir in the South Lincolnshire and Lincolnshire Fens area.
“While we give indicative estimates of the size and cost of the reservoir in our Technical Plan, at this very early stage we do not have a precise location as we are yet to complete the geological survey work. We’re currently reviewing the suitability of seven locations, with two preferred options in South Lincolnshire and the Lincolnshire Fens area.
“Equally, while the start date is likely to be more than a decade away, of course with a project of this scale we would speak to people early on, well in advance of any spades breaking ground.”
