Construction of trial embankment underway at Hackett Thicket Reservoir site
Earlier this year Portsmouth Water granted Future Water MJJV a £167 million contract to construct Hackett Thicket Reservoir – the initial stages of the construction are now underway.
The trial embankment, which is being built using clay from the site, will inform design work for the Hackett Thicket Reservoir which is set to be completed by 2029. The 8.7 billion litre reservoir, once completed, will span 160 hectares between Leigh Park, Havant, and Rowlands Castle in East Hampshire.
Permission for the reservoir was granted in October 2021. Further planning for a £41 million pipeline is expected to be submitted this summer.
Havant Thicket Reservoir project director Ruari Maybank said: “We chose this site because it’s close to Bedhampton Springs, which will provide the water that we’ll use to fill the reservoir, and it’s also rich in London Clay, and we’re going to be using that clay to build the main embankment, which will be 3km long and up to 29m high.”
The trial embankment is 140 metres long and 8 metres high, filled with data gathering equipment tracking the clay’s performance. The data will be used to inform the design of the real reservoir’s main embankment, which needs to both be stable and suit the local topography.
In 2023 the team will also build an access road on the north side of the site, designed to minimise disruption for nearby residents.
Ruari Maybank added: “We’re also going to be building welfare facilities for the people that work here, and then we’ll start work to build a new wetland area along the north shore of the reservoir. The wetland will create a new habitat and improve biodiversity for the area as a whole.’’
The purpose of the reservoir is to secure water supplies for the South West of England, relieving stress from a heavily water pressed area.
Funds for the reservoir, totalling £325 million, were secured last month by Portsmouth Water.
Read more – Hampshire reservoir secures £50m from PIC
