It will enable water from the Medway area of Kent to be used in the Hastings and Bexhill areas, which are extremely vulnerable to the effects of drought conditions because adequate resources are not available locally.

To avoid excessive construction on farmland, a key section of the project is the laying of 3.2km of pipe along the bed of the Bewl Water Reservoir. Specialist contractor Land & Water Group has recently completed this three month contract.

Prior to work commencing on this section of the project, underwater video surveys were undertaken in 50m sections. The reservoir is man made and the survey not only determined the best route for the pipe, but also ensured that potential underwater obstacles were avoided.

The 500mm pipe was delivered in 18m lengths and strings of 250m were butt-welded together on land, pressure tested and then floated onto the reservoir. The pipe is towed by tug to a jack-up pontoon where one end is lifted by crane onto the deck.

Concrete collars were placed at 5m centres, acting as ballast to prevent the pipe floating and, as the pontoon is moved onto its next location, the pipe is trailed off the other end down a 'stinger' chute onto the bed.

Divers ensured that the pipe was in the correct position on the bed and, as the pipe was laid, buoys were attached to enable a GPS survey of its final position. When the end of the pipe string was on the pontoon another string was brought out and butt welded to it on the pontoon deck as the process continued.

Brian Mackay, from Southern Water's contractors Morrison Brown and Root said, 'Land & Water Group not only had the specialist equipment required for this project, but also displayed genuine environmental credentials that made the company an ideal partner.

'Bewl Water is a reservoir that supports a vast array of plant and animal life, and we have specified that all plant working on the water must have bio-degradable hydraulic oils in their systems. It is therefore reassuring to know that Land & Water operates this policy as standard on a range of its plant.'

MJ Information No: 20120