Construction is progressing on the new Middlegate Reservoir in Lincolnshire, a major infrastructure project that will play a key role in strengthening water supply resilience across the East of England.
Delivered by Anglian Water’s @one Alliance in collaboration with the Strategic Pipeline Alliance (SPA), the scheme forms part of Anglian Water’s wider Strategic Pipeline Programme, one of the largest water infrastructure investments currently underway in the UK.
Located at the head of the 52km East-to-Lincolnshire (E2L) Strategic Pipeline, Middlegate Reservoir will help enable treated water to be conditioned, stored and transferred into the wider strategic network, improving resilience and supporting future demand across the region.
With climate change increasing pressure on existing water resources and demand continuing to rise, significant investment is needed to ensure regional water supplies remain resilient for the future.
The Strategic Pipeline Programme has been developed to address these challenges by creating a more connected water network, allowing water to be transferred from areas of greater availability to those experiencing higher demand.
The Middlegate Reservoir Scheme is a key part of that investment. Alongside the new reservoir, the project includes the construction of a conditioning plant, a high-capacity pumping station, lagoon infrastructure and almost 1.6km of cross-site pipelines and associated control systems.
Together, these assets will enable treated water arriving from East Lincolnshire to be conditioned before entering the strategic pipeline network.
The conditioning plant will use controlled dosing systems, including chlorine and orthophosphoric acid, to maintain drinking water quality and support compliance with regulatory standards, while the new pumping station will provide the hydraulic capacity needed to transfer water efficiently across the wider network.
The storage reservoir itself will provide valuable operational flexibility, allowing water to be stored and released as demand changes while improving the resilience of the overall system. By creating additional storage capacity, the scheme will help maintain reliable supplies during periods of maintenance, operational change or increased demand.
Construction has been carefully planned to improve efficiency while reducing environmental impact wherever possible.
Prefabricated concrete elements are being incorporated into the reservoir construction, helping improve consistency and reduce onsite activity. And concrete mixes incorporating increased levels of Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) are also being used to reduce embodied carbon compared with traditional concrete construction.
Digital innovation is another important feature of the scheme. Middlegate is being developed as part of Anglian Water’s Digital Twin Programme, creating a digital replica of the completed asset that will support future operation and maintenance.
The digital model will enable improved monitoring, more informed operational decision-making and more efficient long-term asset management throughout the life of the infrastructure.
The project is being delivered through the collaborative @one Alliance model, bringing together eight delivery partners and specialist suppliers from the earliest stages of the project.
This integrated approach enables challenges to be resolved early, improves coordination between disciplines and supports safer, more efficient delivery across complex infrastructure programmes.
