Anglian Water has revealed plans for the second of two proposed 5sqkm reservoirs. The reservoir, which will be located in The Fens in Cambridgeshire, is expected to supply enough water for around 250,000 homes.

Last month Anglian Water revealed their first proposed reservoir located in Lincolnshire and have already begun public consultation in local area.

Each of the reservoirs is projected to cost between £1bn and £2bn to build and operate. Subject to planning approval the construction of the two reservoirs is expected to begin between 2025 and 2030 with construction being complete and operation beginning sometime in the late 2030’s.

Along with the cost to build the reservoirs and additional £100m will be spent on works to treat the water supply and a further £400m for new pipeline installation to allow water to be piped to existing service reservoirs.

These plans come in response to a summer in which Anglian Water had to respond to a drought declaration after the driest summer in England in 50 years, during which England’s reservoirs stood at just 6% of total capacity.

Hannah Stanley-Jones, Head of Future Resource Strategy for Anglian Water said “Our water supplies are under pressure from climate change, the need to protect the environment, and from a growing population. We will need to supply hundreds of millions more litres of drinking water a day by the 2050s.”

These reservoirs would be the first to be built in the UK in over 30 years. The last major supply reservoir built in England was in Derbyshire in 1991.