United Utilities announces partner for £3bn Haweswater aqueduct upgrade

(Sharecast News) - United Utilities has announced a £3bn deal to refurbish the Haweswater aqueduct, which carries water from Cumbria to 2.5m customers across Greater Manchester and Lancashire. The Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme (HARP), which includes replacing six tunnel sections of the 110km pipeline, will be delivered by consortium Cascade Infrastructure and begin in 2026.

It is thought to be one of the largest water infrastructure programmes across the UK, creating hundreds of jobs in the region, with 1,200 people expected to be employed at the peak of construction.

"Today marks a significant step to ensure we have the right infrastructure to provide a resilient water supply to communities right across the region for decades to come," said United Utilities boss Louise Beardmore.

Meanwhile, Greater Manchester's mayor Andy Burnham called it a "landmark investment", adding: "It's not just about securing the water supplies we need for our city region to grow - it's also about creating jobs, building skills, and delivering long-term value for our communities."

The upgrade is the first in the water sector to be delivered through a Direct Procurement for Customers (DPC) model, which saw United Utilities competitively tender for services in relation to the delivery of the project. By outsourcing the delivery of infrastructure projects using DPC, Ofwater hopes that water companies can achieve significant benefits for customers, through innovation and lowering costs of the project.

Chris Taylor-Dawson, Ofwat's senior director of major projects and markets, hailed it as a "huge step forward for the water industry as a whole".

He said: "Safeguarding water resilience for generations to come is vital and HARP sets a new standard for innovation and collaboration in the sector."