Rutland Water (Empingham Pumped Storage Project)
Rutland, England, UK · 1970s (Construction); 1976 (Completed); 1977 (Fully operational) [LRWT, RWFF, BBC News]
The judgement call
Account-gated at launchOriginally known as the 'Empingham Pumped Storage Project' [RWFF] - Designed to store water pumped from the River Nene and River Welland before treatment [Wikipedia, EIB PDF] - Became a designated Special Protection Area of international importance for its bird populations [Anglian Water]
Key engineering challenges
Construction of a large pumped storage reservoir to meet the needs of the expanding East Midlands area [Rutland History] - Building a dam, levelling buildings, and laying extensive pipelines [LRWT] - Managing the environmental impact and creating a designated Special Protection Area for wildlife [Anglian Water, LRWT]
Project facts
- Client / owner
- Anglian Water Services (AWS)
- Lead contractor
- —
- Lead designers
- —
- Project type
- new build
- Scale
- Covers 3,100 acres (4,200 acres including surrounding park); Storage capacity of 124,000 million litres (27 billion gallons); 34 metres deep; 1,200 metres long [BBC News, LRWT, Wikishire]
- Disciplines
- Civil; geotechnical; environmental; hydraulic
- Standards & frameworks
- Environmental regulations; Water quality standards
Sources: LRWT (The History of Rutland Water): https://www.lrwt.org.uk/history-rutland-water (Accessed: 2026-06-10) - RWFF (History of Rutland Water): https://rwff.org.uk/information/history-of-rutland-water/ (Accessed: 2026-06-10) - Wikipedia (Rutland Water): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutland_Water (Accessed: 2026-06-10) - Anglian Water (About Rutland Water): https://www.anglianwater.co.uk/your-local-area/rutland-sea-dragon/about-rutland-water/ (Accessed: 2026-06-10) - Rutland History (The Rutland Water Project): http://www.rutlandhistory.org/HRW/rutlandwaterproject.pdf (Accessed: 2026-06-10) - BBC News (Rutland Water: 'I never expected to see my submerged...'): https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn47pvdnelzo (Accessed: 2026-06-10) - Wikishire (Rutland Water): https://wikishire.co.uk/wiki/Rutland_Water (Accessed: 2026-06-10) - EIB (Rutland Water Habitat Creation Environmental Statement): https://www.eib.org/files/pipeline/20080488_nts_en.pdf (Accessed: 2026-06-10)