Rayleigh and Wickford MP, Mark Francois, recently spent a Friday morning visiting Abberton Reservoir near Colechester, where he was shown the major construction works which are underway to raise the raise the banks and expand the capacity of the reservoir, in order to better provide water to people across the county of Essex in the 21st Century.
The reservoir, which is operated by Essex and Suffolk Water, is part of a wider project across the county and indeed in other parts of East Anglia, to improve both the storage and the pumping of water over long distances, to help try and alleviate periods of dry weather.
The project at Abberton, which is costing well over £100 million, is designed to increase the capacity of the Reservoir by over 50%. Construction is on schedule and the works are due to be completed by the summer of 2013. Following this, it will be easier to store and then pump water across Essex, including down to Hanningfield Reservoir near Chelmsford, which in turn helps to provide water for residents in South Essex.
Commenting on his visit and tour of the reservoir site, Mark Francois said:
“The work underway at Abberton represents one of the largest construction programmes in the United Kingdom and when it is completed it should help to provide an improved supply of water across the county, including, via the links with Hanningfield Reservoir, for my constituents in Rayleigh and Wickford.
I am very grateful to the staff at Essex and Suffolk Water for showing me around the site and for also stressing their commitment to environmental stewardship, in and around the reservoir itself. As we go into a summer that is predicted to be very dry it is encouraging to know that this project, which has been underway for several years, should help to improve the ability of our county to fight drought in the future – I only wish it might have been possible to complete it by this summer instead! Nevertheless, this was a very worthwhile visit and I believe that this facility will help people across the county of Essex in the future”.
Rayleigh and Wickford MP, Mark Francois, recently spent a Friday morning visiting Abberton Reservoir near Colechester, where he was shown the major construction works which are underway to raise the raise the banks and expand the capacity of the reservoir, in order to better provide water to people across the county of Essex in the 21st Century.
The reservoir, which is operated by Essex and Suffolk Water, is part of a wider project across the county and indeed in other parts of East Anglia, to improve both the storage and the pumping of water over long distances, to help try and alleviate periods of dry weather.
The project at Abberton, which is costing well over £100 million, is designed to increase the capacity of the Reservoir by over 50%. Construction is on schedule and the works are due to be completed by the summer of 2013. Following this, it will be easier to store and then pump water across Essex, including down to Hanningfield Reservoir near Chelmsford, which in turn helps to provide water for residents in South Essex.
Commenting on his visit and tour of the reservoir site, Mark Francois said:
“The work underway at Abberton represents one of the largest construction programmes in the United Kingdom and when it is completed it should help to provide an improved supply of water across the county, including, via the links with Hanningfield Reservoir, for my constituents in Rayleigh and Wickford.
I am very grateful to the staff at Essex and Suffolk Water for showing me around the site and for also stressing their commitment to environmental stewardship, in and around the reservoir itself. As we go into a summer that is predicted to be very dry it is encouraging to know that this project, which has been underway for several years, should help to improve the ability of our county to fight drought in the future – I only wish it might have been possible to complete it by this summer instead! Nevertheless, this was a very worthwhile visit and I believe that this facility will help people across the county of Essex in the future”.