Anglian Water has set out plans for its largest ever single year of investment, with £1.6 billion of improvements and maintenance set to be delivered across the East of England from April. The programme of work is designed to deliver brand new infrastructure and upgrades to support growth in the region, deliver on the company’s commitments to customers, and build resilience to the increasing impacts of climate change.

This investment package forms part of the water company’s largest ever five-year business plan, which contains improvements worth £11 billion, and will be delivered by 2030. After the first year of this plan, £1.1 billion of investment has already been delivered across the East of England and construction teams have broken ground on more than one thousand capital delivery schemes, with an additional 500 schemes expected to begin from April.

Customers across the Ipswich and Colchester region are already benefitting from Anglian’s strategic pipeline, which is moving water to where it’s needed most, and the local community is invited to have their say by 12 April on plans for a new pipeline from Cambridge to Rede as the company continues to deliver its multi-billion pound investment programme to help secure water supplies for future generations in one of the UK’s most water‑stressed regions. Next steps following the third round of consultation for the proposed Fens Reservoir will be announced in late Spring.

Anglian Water’s industry-leading smart meter rollout will also continue in 2026, with a total of 2.2 million smart meters set to be installed by 2030. 315,000 new smart meters were installed during year 1 of the business plan, positioning Anglian Water as the sector’s frontrunner, with more than 1.4 million meters already deployed. 85% of Anglian’s customers are billed through meters, saving them money and encouraging efficient water usage.

Significant progress has also been made to upgrade sewer performance and protect the environment during the first year of the programme. The East of England now has the cleanest bathing waters in the country, and expected blockages have been cut by 58% in hotspot areas as the water company continues to invest  to improve pollution performance and protect the region’s natural environment.

Building on this progress, Anglian Water will invest £269m this year to reduce spills from storm overflows, which includes £47 million to build 35 new storm tanks across the East of England. These new tanks will significantly increase stormwater storage capacity, meaning sites can store excess flows during heavy rainfall to be treated later. This will prevent untreated water from entering rivers and coastal areas, protecting the East of England’s precious natural environment.

Anglian’s front line teams are visible across the region as they work towards a target of replacing more than 1100km of water mains by 2030. So far, nearly 100km have been laid. This £348 million investment will make Anglian’s network stronger and more resilient, meaning fewer leaks, bursts and service interruptions for customers in the future.

The East of England is one of the driest parts of the UK, but also one of the fastest-growing, with more than 720,000 new residents expected to move to the region by 2043. Anglian’s plan is designed to deliver the investment needed to prepare the region for this level of growth, as well as navigating the challenges, extremes and uncertainties that climate change will bring.

Mark Thurston, Chief Executive of Anglian Water, said: “Water is critical to enabling economic growth and we are investing £1.6 billion in the East of England’s water and sewerage infrastructure from April to build better resilience against the impacts of climate change, protect our environment and keep customers’ taps running for years to come. This is part of our £11 billon investment plan, which will be delivered by 2030. We are making great strides in delivering our investment programme, and are seeing improvements in our performance, but we have lots of work ahead of us to deliver for our existing and future customers.”

Don Maher, Director of Customer and Operational Services for Anglian Water, said: “We do everything we can to keep our bills affordable, and water bills are still one of the cheapest household bills. But delivering the services and environmental protections that we know customers expect to see does mean we need to spend more on that infrastructure today. We’re building for better – for the communities we serve and to protect our environment, now and for generations to come.

“We know money is tight for many people at the moment, and we want our customers to know that we’re here to help. Our specially-trained teams* help more than 300,000 people every year with support that’s tailored to their needs through our WaterCare programme: from reducing or spreading out water bills, to signposting customers to benefits they might not have known they were eligible for. We also offer several tariffs designed to help customers with the cost of water, such as our Medical Needs Tariff, funded by shareholders, and our discounted LITE tariff. So, whatever your circumstances are, if you’re worried about paying your bills, please get in touch. The sooner we talk, the sooner we can help.”

Correction: An earlier version of this press release incorrectly stated that 85% of customers were billed via smart meters. This figure actually relates to the number of customers on any type of metered tariff.