Farmer welcomes pipeline to help water-stressed city

The completion of the first phase of a major water pipeline that will eventually connect Lincolnshire with Essex, has been welcomed.

According to Anglian Water, Colchester is one of the driest parts of the East of England, and in one of the country's most water-stressed counties.

A 28km (17.3-mile) section of the pipe - between Ipswich and Colchester - has now been completed although water is yet to flow along the channel.

Farmer Guy Smith described it as "a step in the right direction", adding that "linking the dry south and east with the wet north and west is going to lift the burden".

Emma Hardy, minister for water and flooding, visited the site on Wednesday and said the pipeline was "incredibly important because it's all about water resilience".

She said the project involved "moving water from where we have more - into an area where we have less so it gives reassurance to people wanting to build homes and businesses who want to invest and people who rely on it everyday".

An Anglian Water spokesperson said the pipe stretching all the way to Lincolnshire could be longer than the M1.

Hardy previously said England could face drinking water shortages within the next decade if action was not taken.

Smith added: "I think what this pipeline will do - it will give us an infrastructure where it will connect the two where we have surplus and we have deficit so we can iron out some of the pinch points."

The farmer said that although the region had come out of a wet winter, "it won't be long until I am short of water again".

Andy Alder, managing director of major infrastructure delivery at Anglian Water, said: "We're in the final section of our testing, commissioning and making sure all of our water quality meets our requirements before we go live."

He said Anglian Water focused on the pipeline between the two counties first because the water supply there was the most critical.

The ministerial visit came after the government announced price controls for five water companies including Anglian Water.

The government had rejected the price the firm originally wanted to raise the prices by, and allowed them to have a 2% price increase.

Alder added: "We need to invest in the infrastructure in the water sector for water supply and sewage and making sure we are not putting pollution into the environment - and that is funded through bills."

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