HARP Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme – Strategic Plan

Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme (HARP) is a major United Utilities infrastructure investment to renew critical sections of the Haweswater Aqueduct and protect long-term water security in North West England. The programme targets the highest-risk tunnel sections along an approximately 110 km corridor and is intended to reduce the probability of unplanned failures while maintaining best value for customers under the Ofwat Direct Procurement for Customers (DPC) model. Delivery is led by Cascade Infrastructure (a Strabag and Equitix partnership), with Arup providing detailed design and Turner and Townsend acting as Independent Technical Adviser for assurance. The programme scale is reported at around GBP 3bn and is expected to support a large supply chain and a peak workforce in the region of 1,200. To confirm: the official programme contact point, the latest baseline schedule milestones, and the agreed reporting systems across delivery partners.

The programme is in the mobilisation and definition stage, with contracts awarded and early work focused on investigations, detailed design, governance setup, and stakeholder engagement. Current effort is aimed at building confidence in scope, ground assumptions, programme controls, and the readiness of enabling works for a main construction start in 2026. Benefits are already being created through early supply chain engagement, skills planning, and the establishment of independent technical assurance. To confirm: which tunnel sections are in the first construction wave, and the target service performance metrics (for example daily transfer volumes and outage tolerance).

HARP will deliver a renewed and resilient aqueduct system that significantly reduces failure risk and supports reliable raw water transfer for approximately 2.5 million customers. Replacement works are designed to be mostly underground to minimise surface disruption and deliver long-term operational confidence. The end state is a verified, commissioned asset with clear assurance evidence, demonstrable value for customers, and a maintenance approach that sustains the resilience benefit over the full contract period. To confirm: the planned commissioning sequence and how performance will be independently validated at each major stage.

Progression to the target outcome follows a controlled pathway: ground investigations and data validation, detailed design completion, permit and stakeholder approvals, enabling works, and then phased underground tunnel replacement and reinstatement. Each phase should be gated by quality, safety, cost, schedule, and assurance evidence. PHC-style governance can be applied by maintaining a live risk and issues pipeline, clear ownership of mitigations, and reporting that links decisions to quantified uncertainty and customer value. To confirm: the formal decision gates used in the programme and the required evidence pack structure for each gate.

Operations are distributed across multiple work fronts along the aqueduct corridor, supported by a programme office structure and contractor site compounds that will ramp up as enabling works begin. Core capabilities include investigation equipment, tunnelling plant planning, engineering design and modelling tools, and programme controls and document management systems. The main current constraints are site readiness, permitting timelines, and ensuring reliable logistics for specialist plant and materials across the North West. To confirm: specific site compound locations, site power and communications assumptions, and the document control platform used by all partners.

Within 6 to 12 months the programme should operate from a fully mobilised programme office with mature governance routines and multiple active site compounds aligned to early work packages. Infrastructure will be designed for safe and efficient delivery, including secure welfare facilities, robust comms, and disciplined document control and assurance workflows. The desired end state for premises and equipment is a stable, secure delivery environment that supports high productivity underground works with minimal community disruption and strong protection of sensitive commercial and stakeholder information. To confirm: the standard site security package and the equipment maintenance strategy for long-duration works.

The pathway to this operating base involves defining site standards early, planning logistics routes and compound layouts, and ensuring every work package has the required power, comms, welfare, and security controls before field mobilisation. Equipment readiness should be tracked through asset registers, maintenance plans, and spares strategies that reflect tunnelling criticality. Governance should include routine readiness reviews, early escalation of constraints, and evidence-based approvals for site handover and mobilisation. To confirm: who owns mobilisation readiness approvals and what metrics define green status for each site.

The programme has a strong multi-organisation delivery structure, including United Utilities leadership, the Cascade delivery team, Arup as detailed designer, and Turner and Townsend providing independent technical assurance. Capabilities span major programme management, tunnelling and ground engineering, civil engineering, cost and schedule controls, safety, and stakeholder engagement. The main people risks are interface complexity, competing priorities between delivery and assurance, and workload pressure as the 2026 start approaches. To confirm: current weekly active headcount by partner and the apprenticeship and skills targets for the first 12 months.

A successful delivery organisation will be integrated, role-clear, and safety-led, with consistent decision-making across design, construction, and assurance. The workforce will be scaled responsibly with strong competence management for underground works, and with apprenticeships and local recruitment contributing to long-term skills growth. The future state includes high trust between partners, transparent escalation routes, and a culture where risks are surfaced early and managed with discipline rather than optimism. To confirm: the formal competence and training framework for underground roles and who signs off critical appointments.

To reach the desired workforce state, the programme should maintain a clear governance calendar, define role boundaries and RACI early, and invest in targeted training for safety leadership, document control discipline, and risk-based decision-making. Interface management should be treated as a core workstream with explicit ownership. Practical controls include regular integrated planning sessions, short feedback loops between design and site teams, and assurance checkpoints that improve confidence without slowing delivery. To confirm: the programme communication rhythm and the standard template for decision and assurance records.

Funding is delivered as regulated infrastructure investment (not donation-based). Current spend is focused on management, design, assurance, investigations, and enabling preparations, while the largest cost exposure will emerge during the main tunnelling and replacement phases. Financial uncertainty is driven by ground conditions, permitting impacts, supply chain volatility, and schedule changes that can increase overheads. To confirm: the baseline cost plan, contingency philosophy, and how value for money is evidenced to customers and the regulator.

Financial success means delivering the required resilience outcome within an agreed baseline while maintaining clear evidence of best value for customers. The programme will demonstrate control through transparent cost and schedule reporting, independent assurance, and disciplined change management. The desired future state includes stable funding flows for planned work, well-justified contingency usage, and early detection of trends that could undermine affordability or delivery confidence. To confirm: the KPI set used for cost performance, schedule performance, and value-for-money reporting.

The path to financial control starts with establishing a credible baseline, then using integrated programme controls to track cost, schedule, risk, and change in one consistent reporting cycle. Forecasting should be risk-informed, with clear linkages between uncertainties (such as ground conditions) and contingency drawdown rules. Good practice includes monthly cost and risk reviews, strict scope control, and independent checks on assumptions and progress claims. To confirm: who approves contingency use, and what thresholds trigger escalation to senior governance forums.

Stakeholder communication is aimed at regulators, customers, local communities, and the industry supply chain, using official announcements, engagement sessions, and regular progress updates. Current messaging focuses on the need to reduce failure risk in an ageing asset and deliver a resilient supply with minimal disruption. Marketing assets include the programme narrative, key scale metrics (customers served, corridor length, programme value), and partner credentials. To confirm: the agreed community engagement plan and the frequency and format of public progress reporting.

The programme will be seen as a benchmark for transparent, well-governed delivery of critical infrastructure, with strong public trust and clear evidence that disruption is being managed responsibly. Communications will reinforce resilience, safety, environmental compliance, and value for customers. A successful future state includes high confidence among communities and stakeholders, improved supply chain participation, and a steady pipeline of apprenticeships and local jobs linked to measurable outcomes. To confirm: the long-term reputation objectives and which impact metrics will be published.

Achieving the desired stakeholder position requires a structured engagement plan with consistent messaging, clear escalation routes for community concerns, and a disciplined reporting cadence aligned to major milestones. Reporting should combine progress evidence, safety and environmental performance, and a practical forward look. PHC governance can strengthen this by linking published claims to evidence sources and by maintaining a live log of stakeholder issues, actions, and close-out confirmation. To confirm: the key points at which community input influences design and construction planning, and the approval process for public communications.