Affinity Water is to start work on the £2.5 million scheme to extend a storage reservoir in Kent.

The company has said it will start the extension very shortly on the project that will help make the supply to customers more secure in the Folkestone area.

Situated near Hawkinge, the Paddlesworth Reservoir will receive another ancillary reservoir cell with a capacity of 3ml adjacent to the current storage reservoir.

This increased capacity will help to ensure a safeguard of supplies during disruption or dry spells and will come as part of a wider programme of investment, which will also include the construction of a new pumping station at Lower Standen, along with many mains replacement schemes.

The scheme’s primary contractor is Coffey Construction and work on the project is to start soon, with a target completion date of autumn 2017.

Situated in the Kent Downs Are of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the water firm says the reservoir extension will be built with care in order to make sure that the visual and environmental impacts are kept to a minimum.

Claire Sandhu, project manager, said that Cascade Consulting, their environmental consultants, undertook a series of thorough surveys on ecological issues to help with the designing and planning of the scheme.

She added that the extension to the reservoir will be less than half the size of the current one and will be blended into the landscape through grass banks.

Ms Sandhu said that some bushes and trees will have to be taken out but they are to be replaced by planting new ones at the south end of the site.

Only small roads provide access to the site and construction traffic shall be managed carefully in order to keep any potential disruption for residents down to a minimum, she added.

Planning permission for a 4ml extension was approved by Shepway Council almost two years ago, but Affinity Water have decided to scale their plans back to 3ml.