Work is underway on an £11.5m investment to add resilience to water supplies in rural Suffolk.
£8m of upgrades at Essex & Suffolk Water’s Rickinghall Water Treatment Works (WTW) are being complemented by a £3.5m project to create a new borehole nearby.
The work will increase the site’s water supply capacity by more than 60%, helping to protect supplies and water quality for more than 1,100 homes and businesses in surrounding villages.
A 1.1km underground pipe has already been installed, connecting the WTW and the new borehole location, while the upgrade of the works follows almost a year of preparation on the site.
Work, which is being carried out by Essex & Suffolk Water’s partner, Cleantech, will largely be contained within the WTW and is due to complete in April 2024.
The investment will also have a positive impact for people living close to the site, removing the need to tanker water to the site during hot summers.
Mark Hopwood, Essex & Suffolk Water’s Project Manager, said: “With the challenges of climate change and longer, hot summers, this investment is vital to ensuring our customers across the area continue to have a supply of water that is clean, clear and great tasting.
“Combining the new borehole with upgrades at the water treatment works not only means we can improve security of supply, but it also allows us to produce more water for the area, making the network more resilient.”