Work begins on 57km stretch of huge new water main network

Notice of roadworks  

Work on the most northern section of Anglian Water’s ‘vital’ multi-million-pound water main network – one of Europe’s biggest environmental projects – has begun.  

The 57km Elsham to Lincoln pipeline is part of the largest drinking water project the UK has seen for a generation – hundreds of kilometres of underground, interconnecting pipelines, stretching from Elsham in North Lincolnshire to Essex and Suffolk, will move water from wetter to drier areas.  

Once complete, the network will move 265 million litres of water a day.  

The scale of the work means several weekend road closures (listed below) are planned across Lincolnshire over the next few months. 

- The A46 Lincoln Road – 7pm on Friday March 31 to 6am on Monday April 3 

- A631 Bishopbridge Road – 7pm on Friday April 21 to 6am on Monday April 24  

- A607 Grantham Road – 7pm on Friday May 12 to 6am on Monday May 15 

- A15 Sleaford Road – 7pm on Friday May 19 to 6am Monday on May 22  

- A15 Sleaford Road – 7pm on Friday June 9 to 6am Monday on June 12  

- B1188 Lincoln Road – 7pm on Friday June 23 to 6am Monday on June 26 
 

Additionally, there are two planned contingency weekends (below). A third contingency weekend – which will be used if there’s a delay or cancellation to any of the other weekend closures – has also been planned, from 7pm on Friday June 30 to 6am on Monday July 3.  

- A15 Sleaford Road – 7pm on Friday June 2 to 6am on Monday June 5 

- A15 Sleaford Road – 7pm on Friday June 16 to 6am on Monday June 19  
 

Customers can keep up to date with all Anglian Water’s planned traffic management on the ‘In Your Area’ section of the water company’s website, or by using the One Network website.   

Click here to see a map showing the route of the Elsham to Lincoln pipeline.   

Craig Snow, who is overseeing construction of the 57km section, said: “In many places along the pipeline route, we can drill under the road with no need for a closure – but in some areas, for engineering and safety reasons, that's not possible.  

“The safety of our teams, and road users across Lincolnshire, is paramount – which is why Lincolnshire County Council’s highways department have given us permission for a handful of short, temporary road closures.”  

Closures will have an official diversion route which will be clearly signposted. Access for residents will be maintained throughout and warning signs will be in place.   

Construction of a new compound, east of Glentham, was completed earlier this month. It will act of a base for workers constructing the new 57km pipeline.  

Craig added: “The East of England is one of the driest regions in the UK, which is why Anglian Water has spent many years developing and now implementing our plans into this huge investment to combat water shortages and increase resilience. 

“We’re sorry for any inconvenience our work may cause, but we hope the people of Lincolnshire understand the scale and importance of our work - and that without it, areas of the region could run out of water in the next few years.”  

Planning applications for the 57km pipeline were submitted to four local authorities – City of Lincoln, West Lindsey, North Kesteven and North Lincolnshire – last summer.   

In January, the planning committee at West Lindsey – where most of the pipeline is located – voted unanimously to approve the proposals.   

Councillor Ian Fleetwood told that meeting: “The objective for this pipeline is to move water over a long distance and water is a very precious commodity.” 

Councillor David Dobbie recognised the need to respond to population increases and said the authority had a responsibility “as one of the neighbouring district councils to support that growth with appropriate infrastructure” while Councillor Roger Patterson said it was “vital infrastructure”.  

The new grid is expected to go into service in 2025.  

For more information, please contact the Press Office on 0871 677 0123. 

About Anglian Water 

Anglian Water supplies drinking water to 4.3 million customers across the East of England and collects and treats used water from over 6 million people. We operate within the largest geographical region of England and Wales.  

Water is our business. It’s our job to handle it with care and balance the needs of our customers with those of the environment around us.  

Our ethos is ‘Love Every Drop’, because it’s what we do. Every drop of water is precious, and we believe it’s everyone’s responsibility to look after it. We’re constantly discovering new ways to keep ahead of a changing world, by planning for the future, and exploring new ideas to meet our customers individual needs today and tomorrow.