Why the reservoir is needed

Water is critical to our prosperity – from supporting precious ecosystems to supplying our homes, businesses and essential services such as healthcare, we can’t survive without it.

Our region is one of the UK's driest and especially vulnerable to a changing climate. Drought and hotter summers, as well as intense rainfall events, are likely to be more frequent.

We have many precious ecosystems – such as chalk streams – that need protecting. And if we're to protect the natural environment, we cannot continue to take water from these sources.

What’s more, population growth projections for Cambridgeshire are among the highest in the UK, so we need to make sure enough water is available to support this growth sustainably. Even with all of the measures we are planning to address leakage, reduce demand, and improve water efficiency, our assessments show new water resources are still needed.

We need to deliver a range of new resources such as water recycling and desalination, as well as new reservoirs, if we’re to meet future demands for water.

From as early as 2036, the proposed reservoir in the Fens could begin supplying enough water for over 250,000 homes every year, meeting future demands without putting more strain on the environment.

We now have more information on what the reservoir could look like, how it could be built, and how we will work with local Fenland communities to manage impacts and realise potential benefits.