Work begins on Corby's iconic water towers to safeguard drinking water supply for town's growing population

The twin towers by the side of the A6003 are being improved by Anglian Water to ensure they have enough capacity for Corby’s growth.

The work will ensure that the towers are ready for future residential development, including at West Corby and Priors Hall. Estimates say Corby’s population could double during the next 30 years.

Civil engineering firm Barhale will lead works to enhance capacity at the iconic towers and the adjacent covered reservoir.

The focus will be the installation of new pumps to transfer drinking-standard water from the reservoir into the towers which hold a combined total of more than 4.54 million litres.

Tower number one holds 1.14 million litres while the larger tower holds 3.41 million litres that, between them, supply the town.

Built in the 1960s and 1970s, the distinctive towers on Uppingham Road are part of an Anglian Water network which links Rutland Water to the Beanfield reservoir and water towers via the Morcott and Wing Water Treatment Works.

Barhale will install two new 259kW water pumps to provide capacity to generate additional flow through the system.

The new pumps will require works to install an additional 800 kVA mains power supply. To mitigate the event of mains power failure a new generator with a 24,000 litre fuel tank will be installed, alongside the construction of a bund and a 7,000 litre fuel oil separator to prevent the possibility of pollution.

The contract will be run by Barhale, which is part of the IOS Alliance including Anglian Water, Morrison Water Services, and Kier that carry out major works for the water company.

Although the existing water pumps will be replaced, the programme is designed to ensure there are no interruptions to supply.

Project manager Jedi Sznajder said: “It looks like Corby is going to see dramatic growth over the next few decades and that inevitably means there will be real pressure on utilities.

“The work we are carrying out at the Beanfield site is an important strategic intervention which will significantly increase the capacity of the water supply infrastructure and ensure Anglian Water is able to meet future demand.”

Work is due to start imminently with completion at the end of 2024.