1 week Ago
Tankers full of water are travelling 30 miles up the A12 and B1122 to keep Sizewell C's offices topped up because the local water company cannot cope with demand. Essex and Suffolk Water is the company that supplies the north east of the county - and it has long been known that it has problems in coping with increasing demand. The company is operating at near capacity - and this problem has forced some development or expansion plans in the area to be cancelled or postponed.
It is not able to supply water to the offices that have been built at Sizewell so a temporary deal has been signed with Anglian Water to bring in supplies. Work is underway at the Sizewell C site but water has to be brought in by tanker. (Image: Charlotte Bond) These will be taken from the treatment works at Alton Water just outside Holbrook and driven up the A12 and B1122 to Sizewell.
It is drinking-quality water and a spokeswoman for Anglian Water said this was being done as a temporary solution until Sizewell C and Essex and Suffolk Water came to a long-term agreement. She said: "This is being carried at present but how long for depends on how long it takes for a permanent solution to be found." The water being carried in by road is only for use in the Sizewell C office blocks - it will not be used in the construction of the new power station.
For that seawater will be used once it has passed through a desalination plant - but such a plant does not purify it enough to be used in the office or as drinking water. A Sizewell C spokesperson said: “Until our desalination plan is built in 2026, we’re getting the water we need on site from licensed abstractions on the Sizewell Estate. "For a temporary period this year, we’re getting some additional potable water delivered from Alton Water when necessary using our designated tanker routes.
“In the longer term, to accommodate the overall increase in demand in the region, Sizewell C will help to pay for a mains pipeline to bring water to the Leiston area. "The new mains pipeline will supply not just the power station but the wider community as well. "As a result, by the mid-2030s, the area around Sizewell C is expected to have more water than it needs.
An improved water supply is one of the many benefits that Sizewell C will bring for this region.” Sizewell C has been talking to Essex and Suffolk Water about supplying water to its site for some time but it could take some time for the necessary investment to come on stream. Alison Downes from Stop Sizewell C has been concerned about the problems with water supplies.
(Image: Sarah Lucy Brown) In an exchange Alison Downes from Stop Sizewell C had with the company she was told the power giant was going to support the proposed investment financially. Sizewell C told her: "The water infrastructure upgrade will benefit East Suffolk as well as other parts of Suffolk. "There will be a dedicated pipe coming to Sizewell C; this will ensure that Sizewell C has the water required from operations and not taking from wider consumers.
" Mrs Downes said that issues with water supplies had been one of the main concerns for those opposed to the project. She said: "I hadn't heard about the plans to drive tankers up from Alton Water but we all know it would put a strain on water supplies." Essex and Suffolk Water said last year that it was struggling to meet the demand for water.
In one part of its area, around Eye, there has been an effective moratorium imposed on new commercial development which has prevented businesses from expanding. In the longer term the firm hopes to build new reservoirs and other water storage facilities - but they might not be ready until the mid 2030s. A spokesperson for Essex & Suffolk Water, said: "The plan is to provide a mains water supply to Sizewell C in 2032 once the new water supply schemes have been delivered.
Sizewell C has an alternative water supply arrangement in the interim period.".
