Page 13 - Issue 75 Online

MANEA MATTERS
MANEA MATTERS
Water is vital to health and wellbeing, to the economic prosperity of the East of England,
and to maintaining a thriving natural environment that we can all enjoy. Yet we face growing
challenges to supply, from population growth in our region and a changing climate. At the
same time, we need to reduce the amount of water taken from sensitive sources, such as
chalk streams, to help us protect and restore the environment.
We’re investing heavily to help prepare for and meet these challenges. We’re already
working on new strategic pipelines, installing smart meters, and driving down leakage.
The proposed new reservoir in the Fens has been identified as a necessary large-scale
investment in new water resources that we need and will play a critical role in securing
water supply long into the future.

Our vision for this project goes beyond just building a reservoir. We want to create a place
where water, people and nature come together. That means space for wildlife, such as
wetlands, alongside enabling new recreational and educational activities and natural
places for people to explore. It also means generating new jobs and providing opportunities
for local businesses and tourism.
During our consultation, we provided a very early concept design for the reservoir to help
stimulate thought and discussion. It shows some of the potential features we hope to
include in the reservoir like wildlife areas, recreation and water sports, green infrastructure
like cycleways and renewable energy, and others.
The design will evolve as we continue to refine our proposals for the project, based on
further studies and feedback received from our recent consultation.

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