A major milestone has been reached on the Havant Thicket Reservoir project, with work about to begin on two new pipelines in Havant.
The pipelines will be used to fill the new reservoir with water from local springs and take water back out to supply customers when needed.
Portsmouth Water says it has been working closely with the community, including schools, councillors and businesses, to make sure local people remain at the heart of the plans.
Most of the pipeline route will be installed using micro-tunnelling, an approach which means roads and pavements will not need to be dug up. The company says this will help reduce disruption for residents and lower the impact on the environment.
The work will take place over the next three years, with the pipelines due to be completed by 2029. The total route is seven kilometres long, with each pipe 1.7 metres in diameter, around the height of an average person.
Once complete, the pipelines will be able to move 40 million litres of water a day to the reservoir, enough to fill 16 Olympic swimming pools.
Bob Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of Portsmouth Water, said:
“This is a major milestone for the Havant Thicket Reservoir and an incredibly positive step forward. The past year has seen excellent progress on site, and we’re really excited to now be starting this vitally important stage of work.
“Installing any large infrastructure is challenging, and we’re acutely aware that these pipelines run through a busy residential area. We’ve done all we can to keep disruption to an absolute minimum. This includes adapting our original design, which involved digging up public roads and pavements, and using micro-tunnelling instead. We have also worked incredibly closely with members of the local community to find ways to reduce our impact. This includes planning work around school holidays and changing the design of parts of the route.
“We’re absolutely committed to keeping this conversation going as work progresses. We’ve set up a group made up of local community representatives, including councillors, which will meet regularly and continue to shape how we deliver the scheme and communicate with residents. We are also doing all we can to keep local people informed and make sure they can easily reach us with questions and concerns.”
The pipelines will be constructed by Ward & Burke.
Under current approved plans, the pipelines can only transport spring water to and from the reservoir.
Havant Thicket Reservoir is the first new reservoir to be built in the UK in more than 30 years.
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