Supply Chain Engagement: Fens and Lincolnshire Reservoir Programme

Anglian Water Services Limited (AWS) is facing unprecedented challenges due to climate change, population growth and environmental constraints. These challenges include more frequent droughts, increased demand for water, and the need to reduce water abstraction from environmentally sensitive areas. To address these challenges, the 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. The reservoirs will provide safe, resilient supplies of drinking water, as well as environmental, socioeconomic, leisure, and wellbeing benefits for the communities they serve. FR and LR will be delivered to the benefit of both AWS and Cambridge Water Customers (CWC). AWS is undertaking a programme of early exploratory market engagement to support development of the Reservoirs Supply Chain Delivery Strategy. Following on from our market engagement activities in Q3 2026, including the Fens Reservoir market launch event on 29 June, we are now undertaking targeted market engagement with specific areas of the supply chain. The purpose of this engagement is to develop an evidence-based understanding of supplier capability, capacity, market constraints, technology development, logistics requirements and other factors that may affect delivery of the Reservoirs Programme. This engagement is not being undertaken in relation to a specific procurement and is not a call for competition. Participation will not provide any advantage or disadvantage in any future procurement process. Information obtained through this engagement will be used to develop market intelligence and insights that may help inform future programme delivery, market intervention, sourcing, packaging, commercial and procurement decisions, ensuring these are supported by current market understanding. In particular, AWS wishes to understand whether there are supply-chain constraints or opportunities that require action in advance of future procurements associated with the Reservoir Programme. This could include further market engagement, early testing or qualification, capacity planning, enabling infrastructure, technology development or other proportionate market interventions. This initial programme of engagement will focus on five areas:

• Aggregates
• Pipelines and Valves
• Low Carbon Plant and Equipment
• Earthworks
• Logistics and Integration

The scope of this engagement may subsequently be expanded to other areas and phases as the programme progresses and delivery, commercial and procurement arrangements are further refined. Across the priority areas, AWS is particularly interested in understanding:

• current and expected future market capability and capacity;
• key constraints affecting availability, lead times and deliverability;
• skills, labour and utilisation of local supply chains where possible;
• technical, certification or qualification requirements;
• logistics, storage and enabling-infrastructure requirements;
• emerging technologies and opportunities for innovation;
• sustainability and carbon-reduction opportunities;
• investments or commitments suppliers will require to prepare for future Programme demand;
• the timing of decisions necessary to avoid future capacity or delivery constraints; and
• circumstances in which early client intervention or market-shaping activity could materially improve future delivery confidence.

We anticipate releasing a Market Sounding Questionnaire (MSQ) for each of the focus areas listed above. AWS may subsequently invite organisations to participate in bilateral meetings, site visits or other targeted follow-up engagement. The target timelines for MSQ launch and return are set out below, although may be subject to change:

• Aggregates: 13 November to 30 November 2026
• Pipelines and Valves: 17 November to 4 December 2026
• Low Carbon Plant and Equipment: 17 November to 4 December 2026
• Earthworks: tbd, Likely from January 2027
• Logistics and Integration: tbd, Likely from December 2026