Anglian Water invests over £500,000 to secure water supplies in Kettering

Anglian Water’s @one Alliance has begun work on a £500,000 upgrade to the water network in Kettering which will secure resilient water supplies for residents and businesses in Northamptonshire area, keeping taps running and toilets flushing for years to come.

Work will begin on the scheme from Monday 18 March and is expected to finish by June 2024 and will see 1.2km of new water pipes installed between Warkton and Barton Seagrave.

The water company operates in the driest and flattest region of the UK, making it particularly vulnerable to extreme weather – including drought – as a result of climate change.

It may seem unbelievable, following one of the wettest winters on record, but without taking this action, the East of England would face a water deficit of 30 million litres a day by 2025 due to the combined impact of a rapidly growing population, climate change, and being located in the most water-scarce part of the UK. That’s a shortfall of 4,380 Olympic swimming pools of water, every year.

In November 2023, Anglian Water published their Thriving East report which revealed that Northamptonshire is estimated to see 11% population growth by 2043, particularly of over-65s and the county is set to face significant pressures accommodating its necessary housing and infrastructure growth.

Northamptonshire’s natural environment is already seeing acute challenges compared to the region’s average, according to the report – and while population and housing growth could help the county’s economic prosperity, this growth will put an additional strain on the region’s water and sewerage infrastructure. Against a backdrop of hotter and drier weather, a resilient water supply will become more important than ever to Northamptonshire’s growing population.

Becky Housden, Customer Experience Coordinator for the project, said: “With Northamptonshire’s population set to grow by 11% by 2043, amid hotter and drier weather, securing water resources for our customers has never been more important. Projects like this one in Kettering mean we can ensure everyone in our region has a resilient supply of clean drinking water now and in the future.”

During the work, some traffic management will be needed to keep engineers, residents and road users safe. Traffic lights will be in place on Warkton Lane from 25 to 28 March 2024 and there will be a road closure on Warkton Lane in April for around two to three weeks (date to be confirmed).

For more information and updates about the works and traffic management can be found here.