WORK to expand a reservoir to stop Essex running dry has started.

The first shovel-load of earth was moved yesterday as part of a £150million project to expand the volume of Abberton Reservoir by 60 per cent.

This is being achieved by some of its banks and the end dam being raised so it can hold more water.

John Devall, operations director at Essex and Suffolk Water, said it was “brilliant to see some earth and concrete moving” after 17 years of planning.

He added: “The start of construction is an important milestone in securing future water supplies for Essex.

“We look forward to seeing the finished result, which we are sure will be a significantly-enhanced reservoir for our customers, the community and wildlife.”

The work is scheduled to be finished by spring 2013 and will boost the reservoir’s capacity from 26,000 megalitres to 40,000 megalitres – equivalent to 160,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The expansion, achieved by raising the reservoir’s water level by just 3.2m, will require a 2km stretch of the B1026 to be diverted and the reservoir’s pumping station to be rebuilt on higher ground.

Project manager Jim Jenkins said a temporary pumping station will be built, so the reservoir can continue supplying water to homes and businesses in south Essex and East London.

He added: “This project is about improving the water supply system for Essex.

“The county is the driest in England and the population is growing steadily, while climate change means longer, drier summers and deeper, wetter winters.

“We need a bigger bucket to store water from the winter to use through the summer.”

Water is taken out of the River Ouse in Norfolk, and runs down a channel and into a pipeline to the River Stour near Haverhill. At Brantham, water is then pumped down to Abberton for storage. As well as the expansion of Abberton, the project involves 32km of new pipeline being built along that route, including a new pumping station and link to the reservoir from Wormingford.