Kier has been awarded a £139 million contract by Severn Trent Water to deliver a substantial upgrade of the Wanlip sewage treatment works in Leicestershire – the third-largest facility of its kind in Severn Trent’s network. The extensive programme is designed to future-proof the site by increasing capacity and resilience while meeting more stringent environmental standards. Once complete, the upgraded facility will be capable of handling a 24% increase in dry weather flow and around 20% more full flow to treatment, addressing the demands of a growing population and improving water quality across the region. This milestone follows an early contractor involvement (ECI) phase, during which Kier completed enabling works and developed the detailed design in close collaboration with Severn Trent. Full-scale construction is now under way and is expected to conclude by 2028. Key elements of the scheme include: James Jesic, Severn Trent’s capital delivery and commercial director, commented: “It’s exceedingly rare for us to award contracts of this size and it really speaks to the scale of these upgrades at Wanlip and our commitment to improving our infrastructure, delivering a reliable high-performing service for our customers, and protecting the environment.” Andy Lingham, managing director of water at Kier Natural Resources, Nuclear & Networks, added: “This is a significant project for Severn Trent, and we’re pleased to be bringing our expertise to help deliver it. Our relationship spans more than 20 years, and this is one of many projects we’ll be delivering in this AMP8 cycle. Collaboration will be key to making it a success, with all parties co-located in our new welfare village, working together to ensure safe, efficient, and successful delivery.” The project forms part of Severn Trent’s wider capital investment plan for AMP8 and highlights Kier’s continued role in helping the water company enhance its critical infrastructure across the Midlands. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Now is a time of change for UK’s ‘broken’ water sector Publication of the final report of the independent review into the water sector’s regulatory system in England and Wales has been welcomed by ACE Group.  The Independent Water Commission, chaired by Sir Jon Cunliffe, has now concluded its investigation into the provision of water and the quality of our natural water environment.  The review is a direct response to a catalogue of pollution cases, financial difficulties, mismanagement and infrastructure failures within the sector, which combined have shaken the public’s trust.  With firm recommendations on driving resilience, enabling innovation, supporting supply chain capacity, speeding up delivery and the capability of water companies to roll out large infrastructure projects, ACE Group is calling on Government to embed these into law at the earliest opportunity.  Director of Policy at ACE Group, Marie-Claude Hemming, said: “ACE Group has long argued that the UK’s water sector is fundamentally broken, still driven by cycles of boom and bust alongside challenging business models, a lack strategy and pipeline visibility.   “The publication of the Cunliffe review highlights that it really is now time for change. Trust has been broken and we all have a part to play in its restoration.  “This cannot be done in isolation. While we urge the government to implement the recommendations of this independent review as soon as possible, we must all be cognisant of big decisions ahead.  “Primarily, it is no longer possible to continue with the current approach, whereby the industry is deprived of necessary investment – does not drive economic growth and the longer-term environmental outcomes future generations deserve.   “We need honest conversations about cost and the finance models needed to deliver the world class water infrastructure society expects.  “ACE Group urges Government not to shy away from difficult decisions and seize the opportunity to deliver this once in a generation reform to our water sector.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Two proposed reservoir schemes by Anglian Water in Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire have officially been designated as nationally significant infrastructure projects, allowing them to bypass the local authority planning system and seek direct approval from the Planning Inspectorate. The move means both schemes will now be subject to a Development Consent Order (DCO) process, with final approval resting with the relevant Secretary of State, rather than local planning committees. Despite headlines from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs suggesting that the government is “stepping in to build the first major reservoirs in 30 years”, it’s important to note that the schemes will remain under the control of Anglian Water and its delivery partners. In fact, the Havant Thicket Reservoir, currently under construction by Portsmouth Water in Hampshire, is already underway—making the department’s claim somewhat misleading. Anglian Water’s Lincolnshire Reservoir is proposed for land south of Sleaford, with a target operational date of 2040. It is designed to deliver up to 166 million litres of water daily, supplying around 500,000 homes. Meanwhile, the Fens Reservoir, a joint venture between Anglian Water and Cambridge Water, is planned for a site between Chatteris and March, aiming to come online by 2036. It will deliver up to 87 million litres of water per day to support around 250,000 homes. These developments are especially critical given the location—eastern England is the driest region of the UK and under growing pressure from climate change, population growth, and agricultural demand. Both projects are now moving into the consultation phase, where feedback will be gathered from local communities, stakeholders, and environmental groups to help shape final proposals. Sian Thomas, Anglian Water’s Director of Strategic Asset Management, welcomed the announcement, saying: “This is a great first step in recognising the scale and importance of these major infrastructure builds. But it will require even further innovation and change in regulation to deliver major infrastructure on the scale needed for the UK—for example, developing appropriate infrastructure financing, funding, and procurement models, further reviewing planning reform, and achieving greater regulatory alignment.” The reservoirs form part of Anglian Water’s long-term strategy to futureproof water supply across the region, improve resilience against drought, and support wider environmental goals. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Yorkshire Water is about to embark on its largest infrastructure investment of the last 20 years, tackling poor performing assets, as it starts a five-year plan to replace more than 1000km of water mains. In the first year alone, Yorkshire Water is investing £89m to replace 238km or 147 miles (equivalent to a return journey from Leeds to Hull) of water mains with durable, flexible plastic pipes. The second year of the programme will see 211km of mains replaced throughout Yorkshire. The new replacement mains are built to withstand high pressure and temperature variations resulting in fewer bursts, lower leakage and a reduction in water supply disruptions to customers. Yorkshire Water is targeting poor performing assets that will benefit most from mains renewal as a priority in areas prone to disruption, bursts and supply interruptions such as Kiverton Park, York, Sheffield, Sowerby Bridge, Harrogate and Stannington. Mains replacement work will take place right across the county from Barnsley, Rotherham, Doncaster and Sheffield to the east Yorkshire coast, Hull and North Lincolnshire. York and North Yorkshire will see 43km and 90km of new mains respectively by the end of March 2026, as the county undergoes a major replacement programme. Whilst this large-scale scheme will cause some disruptions along the way, Yorkshire Water’s team is determined to keep this to a minimum as Lee Boshell, capital delivery programme manager, Yorkshire Water, explains: “We have already identified our first two years’ worth of mains replacement and we’re working towards year three of our five-year programme. Having long term visibility of the programme of works allows us to work closely with Local Authorities, Highways and other utility providers, so that we can collaborate with them to renew mains and other services in one go. “This is an important investment for our business and our customers and will help us to improve the performance of our clean water network to reduce leakage and supply interruptions for our customers. We know that delivering this work, which involves relaying mains under busy roads and in major towns and cities in the region, will inevitably cause disruption, but we will be doing everything we can to keep this to a minimum. “We’re deploying trenchless techniques wherever possible to reduce disruption by tunnelling under the road in some instances to prevent the need to dig a trench across a whole street or road. “We will be working hard to provide as much notice as possible to customers, partner organisations, stakeholders and commuters about work happening in their area and proposed timescales.” The mains replacement programme is part of Yorkshire Water’s largest ever environmental investment of £8.3bn to improve infrastructure focussing on issues we know our customers really care about such as: Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals