How Anglian Water and Water Resources East Are Reshaping Water Management in Lincolnshire: Water security has moved rapidly up the business and policy agenda. Population growth, climate disruption, industrial decarbonisation, and environmental recovery are converging to place unprecedented pressure on water systems, particularly in the East of England. In response, Anglian Water and Water Resources East (WRE) are working together on a new generation of long‑term, collaborative solutions designed to support growth while protecting the environment.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Geoff Darch, Head of Strategic Asset Planning at Anglian Water and Daniel Johns, Managing Director of Water Resources East met with the UK Food Valley to explain why new approaches demand a step change; recognising that water can no longer be planned for nor managed in isolation. “We’re at a critical moment,” explains Geoff. “Demand is increasing across households and industry, whilst climate instability is making supply more variable. Managing that balance is becoming progressively more complex.”

Historically, Eastern England has relied heavily on groundwater and established surface water systems, but that model is now under strain.  Alongside new and progressive commercial uses to include food processing, data centres, and hydrogen production, industrial demand is driving water use well beyond historic norms. “Non‑domestic demand has changed significantly,” Geoff notes. “We are seeing new sectors that simply didn’t exist at scale before, and many of them are water‑intensive”. 

At the same time, environmental expectations are rising. Water companies are under increasing pressure to reduce abstraction from chalk streams and groundwater‑dependent ecosystems, allowing rivers and habitats to recover. “Only around one in five rivers in our region are currently in good ecological health,” says Daniel. “We need a system that enables recovery of nature at the same time as supporting growth.”

Water Resources East was established to address precisely this challenge. As an independent, not‑for‑profit organisation, WRE brings together water companies, local authorities, agriculture, industry, developers and environmental bodies to plan water resources at a regional scale. “Our role is to look across sectors,” Daniel explains. “Public water supply is critical, but so is agriculture, energy, navigation, industry and leisure. Everyone needs water, and the system has to work for all of them.”

Under the National Framework for Water Resources, WRE is helping to deliver a long‑term regional plan looking ahead to 2050 and beyond. This includes both major infrastructure investment and changes in how water is valued, used, and viewed.

Not coincidentally, two of the largest investments in Eastern England for decades are now underway.  The Anglian Water Strategic Pipeline Alliance (SPA) and the proposed Lincolnshire Reservoir.

The strategic pipeline, already partly complete, creates a regional ‘backbone’ that enables water to be moved between different areas depending on need. “It creates the flexibility to move water to where it’s needed most,” says Daniel. “Drought doesn’t always hit the same places each time. The pipeline allows the system to respond dynamically.”

This flexibility will become increasingly important as new reservoirs and future sources - such as desalination - come online.

Meanwhile, the Lincolnshire Reservoir is a nationally significant infrastructure project, designed to store excess winter rainfall, primarily from the River Trent, for use during increasingly dry summers. “This is about storing water when it’s abundant and using it when it’s scarce,” Geoff says. “But it’s also about backing off abstraction from sensitive environments and letting nature recover.”

The reservoir is expected to play a critical role in long‑term supply resilience, environmental protection and regional growth, with a planned operational date around 2040, but it's also part of looking at the whole water system in terms of availability. So, as well as addressing a public water supply, Anglian Water are identifying how water moves through the landscape and what opportunities this opens for farmers to create and benefit from their own storage reservoirs as a collective benefit to reimagining the way water resources are managed in the future.

While large infrastructure is essential, both organisations are clear that supply alone will not solve the challenge. Demand management is equally important. “A new reservoir can take 25 years to deliver,” Daniel explains. “In the short to medium term, the biggest gains come from using water more efficiently.”

Key measures include:

  • Smart metering to give households and businesses real‑time insight into water use
  • Leakage reduction including in homes and businesses as well as water supply networks
  • Water efficiency standards for new housing and promoting rainwater harvesting and grey water recycling in commercial buildings
  • Better pricing signals to reflect water scarcity during peak periods of demand

“We need potable water to be reserved for uses that genuinely require drinking‑water quality,” Daniel adds. “Too often in the past it’s been used for industrial processes that could use alternatives.”

This creates a lot of potential for demand management. For example, connecting smart meters to eliminate unintended consumption and to better map sources of water with supplies. Both agree it has been too easy in the past for heavy industry to access potable water from the network for anything, regardless of whether drinking quality water is needed or not. 

One of the most significant opportunities lies in alternative water sources. Water for energy is a big emerging demand with data centres a strong example where potable water has been used for the cooling systems to date.  “With artificial intelligence, and massive growth in knowledge and data networks”, says Daniel, “we can't allow the limited potable water available being snapped up for cooling chips and servers. We need to think about the alternatives , such as using closed loop systems fed with alternative water supplies”.

Anglian Water is already supporting industrial projects such as green hydrogen production - that use treated recycled water rather than potable supply. “We've got two green hydrogen projects on the Humber South Bank, where we're exploring the use of final effluent from water recycling centres, to process and use, turning a waste into a resource and avoiding taking high-quality drinking water or water out of the environment” explains Geoff. “We’re turning what was once waste into a resource that protects the environment and creates capacity for growth.”

Across agriculture, WRE is working with farmers and the Environment Agency on; on‑farm and shared storage reservoirs; water sharing between neighbouring farms; and real‑time catchment data, to support smarter abstraction decisions.  “Climate change means averages are no longer useful to guide decisions,” Daniel explains. “We need real‑time, dynamic catchment management that helps farmers capture water when it’s available and use it when it’s needed.”

Daniel also believes it’s about dynamic pricing.  “Like other utilities, we need to explore ways to give a pricing signal to users to avoid water use at peak times; to use more in the winter, less in the summer, and less in particular on hot summer days”. 

Both organisations place strong emphasis on research, innovation and knowledge sharing. Anglian Water has significant in‑house scientific expertise and works closely with UK universities including the University of Lincoln, whilst also taking knowledge learning and best practice from international pioneers. “Countries like Spain and the Netherlands are already dealing with challenges we are only just beginning to face,” Geoff says.

“Desalination of seawater is currently the most expensive and most energy intensive way to produce water in the UK. In Spain, the government have taken a very direct interest in agricultural water use and invested in the biggest desalination plant in Europe with 50% of the output allocated for domestic use and 50% dedicated to agriculture,”  states Geoff.  “There’s huge value in learning from their experience, particularly around desalination and agricultural water management.”

Looking ahead, the ambition is clear: a water system that supports economic growth, enables decarbonisation and restores nature. “Water shouldn’t be a barrier to growth,” Daniel concludes. “But growth has to be more water‑efficient and better planned.”

Daniel is clear that there’s also more government can do.  “We’re encouraging government to support the work of water companies and agriculture with policies that first of all make new homes more water efficient, open up alternative water supplies for industrial growth, and make the abstraction licensing system more flexible and dynamic to allow real-time decision making.” 

For Geoff, the priority now is momentum. “The blueprint is emerging,” he says. “The challenge is moving faster from planning to delivery, whilst keeping the right safeguards in place.”

Together, Anglian Water and Water Resources East are demonstrating how long‑term collaboration, smarter investment and shared learning can turn one of the region’s biggest challenges into a platform for impactful sustainable prosperity.

Geoff Darch is Head of Strategic Asset Planning, accountable for developing and monitoring strategic plans for water and wastewater infrastructure, reporting progress and resource trading. 

Anglian Water’s core purpose is to bring environmental and social prosperity to the East of England by providing essential water and water recycling services while acting as a steward for the region’s environment. As detailed in their Purpose Impact Assessment, they aim to deliver sustainable water management through a "Love Every Drop" policy, tackling climate change and enhancing regional resilience.  

Daniel Johns has a background in water, farming, and environmental policy as a senior civil servant at DEFRA.  During his time there he helped take the Flood and Water Management Act through Parliament, reformed how flood and coastal defence projects are funded in England, and helped write the Health and Harmony agriculture white paper.  

Water Resources East is one of five regional scale planning groups for water resources set up by government under the National Framework for Water Resources. WRE is a not-for-profit company which covers the whole of the eastern region and is independent of any one sector. They work with all four water companies, local authorities and key sectors, to promote sustainable water solutions and environmental interests. 

Lincolnshire County Council’s (LCC) role in any Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) - in this case; the Lincolnshire Reservoir development - is as a consultee in the planning process, with the final decision made by the Secretary of State.  A core objective for LCC is recognising the impact of the scheme on the Lincolnshire landscape and in influencing and seeking additional benefits through improved local infrastructure, natural environment enhancement, economic benefit of waterborne activity, and access to nature.

Geoff and Daniel were interviewed by Kate Storey from the UK Food Valley, managed and funded by Lincolnshire County Council.