Cambridge Water, part of South Staffordshire Water Plc, is launching its biggest mains rehabilitation project to date.

Over the next five years, 250 km of ageing water mains across the Cambridge and South Staffs regions will be replaced, three times more than what was replaced between 2020-2025.

This project is part of an £84 million investment to proactively renew its network and improve the long-term serviceability of the water network in the two regions.

South Staffordshire Water is targeting areas of the network that have a history of bursting or leaking. By replacing these parts of the network, the number of leaks will be reduced, water quality will be enhanced, and water resources will be aided with less water being lost from the pipeline network. 

Robert Boswell, Capital Delivery Director, commented: “A fundamental part of our service to customers is to provide clean, high-quality water supplies. Key to this is protecting and upgrading our network so that it lasts for generations.

“Undertaking work on the highways can lead to short-term traffic disruption on busy roads; however, we plan to work as efficiently as possible to keep this to a minimum while we make improvements for the long term.

“We will be 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 have identified our first two years’ worth of mains replacement, and, as we schedule work further into our plan, we will work closely with Local Authorities, Highways and other utility providers, to renew mains and other services in one go to limit future disruptions.”

Over the next five years, South Staffordshire Water has committed to reducing leakage in the Cambridge region by 15%.

The first rehab scheme in Cambridgeshire will take place on Maple Way in Melbourn from 24 July. Another scheme will take place in Harlton later this year.

Between 2025-2030, South Staffordshire Water Plc is investing £150 million in maintaining and improving its water infrastructure, including its service reservoirs and treatment works.

The company is also investing in alternative water sources in the Cambridge region – a pipeline from Grafham Water and a new reservoir in the Cambridgeshire Fens, both in partnership with Anglian Water.