Water pipeline works to begin in new year
Thames Water has announced that the new water pipe, which will carry water both ways between Fobney water treatment works in Reading and Cold Ash storage reservoir, will bypass the need to abstract water at Speen.
Speen water treatment works serves 35,000 people in Newbury, with water abstracted from bore holes and also from the River Kennet.
The water company said that the new £10m pipe will mean customers will have a more secure supply of water, which will also mean less water has to be taken from the river.
At slightly more than a foot in diameter, the pipe will carry water from Reading to be stored at Cold Ash, but it can also be sent back the other way if needed.
Work is planned to start in January and will reduce the amount that Thames Water takes from the river by around four-and-a-half million litres per day.
The works will start at the Pincents Lane connection in Calcot, cross over the M4, go through Bradfield, cross the River Pang twice and end at Cold Ash.
During construction, a number of roads will need to close as the pipe is laid.
Even though works start next month, Thames Water spokesman Craig Rance said that the company would only announce which roads would be affected as the work progressed.
He said: “We will be giving updates throughout the work. Giving out rough ideas and then changing them could lead to confusion.
“It'll be better if we set the dates and then let people know as the work progresses across the county.”
The director of Action for the River Kennet (ARK), Charlotte Hitchmough, said: “ARK is delighted that Thames Water is building more flexibility in to their water supply system, which will benefit the Kennet by reducing the detrimental impact of water abstraction at Speen.
“We are looking forward to hearing when work will start to reduce the impact of abstraction at Axford too.”
Thames Water’s head of programme delivery, Andy Popple, said: “This project will have a really positive effect on the local environment for the Kennet and it will make the water network more resilient.
“As with any big project like this there will be some road closures and the pipe building work will travel across the county. We’re sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause and will keep customers updated in the lead-up to the project starting.”