Anglian Water has launched a preliminary market engagement exercise inviting suppliers to register their interest in the upcoming £60 million procurement for its £60 million Fens and Lincolnshire Reservoirs Early Works Partner (EWP).

Launching the engagement, Anglian said the water company is facing unprecedented challenges due to climate change, population growth and environmental constraints, including:

• more frequent droughts
• increased demand for water
• the need to reduce water abstraction from environmentally sensitive areas.

Water Resources East regional planning and the Water Resource Management Planning of Anglian Water and Cambridge Water have selected the Fens Reservoirs (FR) and Lincolnshire reservoir (LR) schemes as low-regret Strategic Resource Options (SRO) to improve water security and meet societal and environmental outcomes. 

Both schemes are in the Major Water Infrastructure Programme.

The FR and LR and associated assets (abstraction, treatment and transfers) are being progressed through the fast-tracked delivery framework overseen by the Regulators' Alliance for Progressing Infrastructure Development (RAPID), and each is proposed to be a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) seeking consent through the Development Consent Order (DCO) regime.

Due to the size and complexity of the programme, Specified Infrastructure Project Regulations (SIPR) is the preferred delivery model for the reservoirs. SIPR was introduced by the UK Government in 2013 as a mechanism for an alternative approach to financing and delivering large and complex water and sewerage infrastructure projects.

Under SIPR, the Secretary of State or Ofwat may specify an infrastructure project for delivery under a "project licence" by a third party where certain conditions are met.

Early Works are the preparatory activities; site investigation works and construction tasks to be completed prior to Development Consent Order (DCO) determination and commencement of Enabling Works and Main Construction Works.

The works will comprise preparatory statutory, technical and construction activities required to support the obtaining of the necessary consents prior to DCO determination.

Anglian Water are considering the following activities as part of the EWP Framework scope where the EWP will act as the Principal Contractor (PC), where it is reasonably practicable.

• Principal Contractor Services – Overall site coordination, health and safety management, logistics and contractor management. Duty under CDM.
• Site Management & Logistics – Site operations, welfare, security, access management and logistics controls.
• Site Establishment & Compounds – Establishment and operation of site compounds, welfare facilities and supporting infrastructure.
• Constructability & Design Coordination – Construction planning, buildability reviews and coordination with design development activities.
• Environmental Mitigation – Delivery of environmental mitigation measures required to support the programme.
• Ecological Mitigation & Monitoring – Habitat creation, species protection works and ecological monitoring activities.
• Archaeology, Heritage & Geophysical Investigations – Archaeological investigations, heritage works and geophysical surveys.
• Water Surveys – Water level and quality monitoring
• Topographical & Utility Surveys – Topographical surveys, utility detection, mapping and verification activities.
• Geotechnical Investigations – Ground investigations, testing and reporting.
• Environmental Surveys – Environmental baseline and compliance surveys.
• Ecological Surveys – Ecological surveys supporting environmental assessment and mitigation requirements.
• UXO Investigations – Unexploded ordnance surveys and investigations.
• Temporary Traffic Management – Temporary traffic management, road closures and associated highway measures.
• Site Discharge & Consenting Support – Delivery of drainage and discharge infrastructure and support to consent compliance activities.
• Temporary Works – Design, management and assurance of temporary works.
• Property Management & Dilapidation Surveys – Property-related activities, condition surveys and management of affected assets and interfaces.
• Demolition Works – Demolition and clearance of existing structures where required to facilitate delivery of Early Works.
• Earthworks Trials – A scaled-down embankment constructed to validate ground behaviour, design assumptions, construction methods and specifications before full-scale reservoir embankment delivery.

The duration of the Framework is proposed to be an initial 5-year term running from 31 May 2027 to 1 July 2032 with three further possible annual extension options to 30 June 2035.

Anglian Water anticipates releasing a Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ) at the beginning of November 2026 with return by the end of November 2026 and the launch of an Invitation to Tender (ITT) in January 2027.

Anticipated contract award date is May 2027 with contract completion quarter 2 of 2032.

Estimated contract value is currently anticipated to be between £60 million and £80 million – the final amount will be confirmed in the tender notice.

Anglian Water is now inviting interested parties to register their interest by completing a short online form. The market engagement activities will include a market engagement briefing and market sounding questionnaire as part of a planned ongoing programme of market engagement ahead of the procurement activities for the Fens Reservoir and Lincs Reservoir EWP Framework .

Deadline to complete and submit the online form is 9th October 2026.

Any queries in relation to this PMEN can be sent to the following email address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The water company is pointing out that non-participation in the Reservoirs Programme's market engagement activities will not prevent any supplier from participating in any future procurement.

Click here to access the online form