A £3 billion deal has been signed to overhaul a 70-year-old aqueduct in the Lake District.
Work to build the Haweswater aqueduct, which supplies over 2.5 million people in Greater Manchester and Lancashire, started in 1933 and took 22 years to complete.
A major feat of engineering, it uses gravity to carry 570 million litres of water every day to customers and businesses across Cumbria, Lancashire and Greater Manchester – equivalent to nearly 250 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
As part of the programme to upgrade and improve the region’s strategic water network, the new contract paves the way for one of the largest water infrastructure programmes across the UK, creating hundreds of jobs in the region.
With an estimated construction cost of around £3 billion the programme will be delivered by Cascade Infrastructure, a consortium of partners within which bring a strong track record of delivering similar tunnelling schemes in Europe.
The programme is the first in the water sector to be delivered through a Direct Procurement for Customers model to provide best value for customers. It covers the design, construction, maintenance and financing of the scheme.
Construction will get underway next year and will see six tunnel sections replaced. Most of the work will happen below ground, using the latest tunnelling techniques.
Around 1,200 people will be employed at the construction peak with an apprentice recruitment programme to help build and secure skills for the future.
Louise Beardmore, chief executive of United Utilities, said: “Making the North West stronger, greener and healthier is at the heart of everything we do.
“Today marks a significant step to ensure we have the right infrastructure to provide a resilient water supply to communities right across the region for decades to come and, at the same time, creating hundreds of great quality jobs and delivering on the commitments and promises we have set out.”
Water Minister Emma Hardy said: “We are rebuilding the water network from the ground up through one of the largest infrastructure projects ever seen in Britain.
“In a new era of partnership between government and industry, we are upgrading pipes, tackling sewage spills and safeguarding water security so communities can once again take pride in their rivers, lakes and seas. Investments in projects like the Haweswater Aqueduct will be essential in this effort to secure clean water for future generations.”
