According to Barbour ABI, 31 AMP8 water infrastructure projects reached contract award in August 2026. The projects combined for a total of £771m, although key projects such as the Maple Lodge Sewage Treatment Works and Haweswater Aqueduct make up £515m of that figure.
The rest of the projects consist of treatment works, storm overflow storage, and other various upgrades.
Overall, the 31 projects make up 41% of total infrastructure contract awards last month. Figures highlighting contract award data, and the highest value awards for each region can be found in both our Construction Industry Monthly Snapshot and Regional Spotlight reports.
What is AMP8?
AMP8 (Asset Management Period 8) set by Ofwat is a five-year regulatory framework in which water companies in England and Wales will invest £104bn towards reduction of leakages, reduce storm overflows, and upgrade existing water infrastructure. The current and eighth cycle of AMP is running from 2025-2030.
AMP8’s promised £104bn is a 76% increase from the AMP7 investment figure of £59bn.
Who’s winning the majority of the AMP8 contract awards
August 2026’s AMP8 contract awards highlight three major contractors winning 84% of the overall value:
| Contractor | Projects | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kier | 2 | £269.2m | 36.90% |
| Cascade Infrastructure Limited | 1 | £250m | 32.40% |
| Costain Group PLC | 13 | £130m | 16.90% |
| TOP 3 COMBINED | 16 | £649.2M | 84.20% |
The remaining 12 contractors from these awards include firms such as Galliford Try, Mott MacDonald Bently, Barhale, and more which share just under £112m of value.
Kier’s top position based on value is almost entirely the result a single contract, the £265m Maple Lodge Sewage Treatment Works upgrade. This is one of the largest individual water infrastructure awards seen in 2026 to date. However, at this time their role in this project is to carry out the Early Contractor Involvement phase, which is a total value of £8.7m. It is expected that they will win the entire contract. The second win for Kier is the £4.2m Blackburn Wastewater Treatment Works upgrade.
Cascade Infrastructure Limited secured 32.4% of the total share of August’s water infrastructure contract awards with one project valued at £250m. The project is the Haweswater Aqueduct Bowland Section located in Lancashire.
Costain Group’s high-volume success of 13 separate contract wins all come from the Thames Water AMP8 Wastewater Asset Assurance Programme framework. Each project is valued at approximately £10m and are framework call offs, or, pre-agreed packages released from a panel Thames Water established to deliver upgrades across multiple wastewater treatment sites simultaneously.
AMP8 water infrastructure projects to watch
Sourced directly from our Construction Project Leads Platform, our contract award data indicates 31 projects at contract award stage last month for a total value of £771m. Below, you’ll find the top valued projects from the framework with role, scheme, and project timing details.
For the full, current list of AMP8-related projects, log into the Construction Project Leads Platform. Not a client? Request 10 free leads today and we’ll send you 10 of the AMP8 water infrastructure projects you’re interested in.
£265m Maple Lodge Sewage Treatment Works – Capacity Upgrade
As mentioned earlier in this blog, Thames Water has recently awarded this project to main contractor Kier to carry out the Early Contractor Involvement phase. According to Kier’s website, this is the largest wastewater project they’ve tucked under their belt to date.
The project consists of extensive treatment and infrastructure upgrades to the Hertfordshire Maple Lodge Sewage Treatment Works.
Works are expected to include:
- Upgraded storm storage
- Inlet works
- Screening
- Primary settlement and biological treatment
- New final settlement tanks
- Tertiary treatment and improvements to electrical, control and monitoring systems
Value: £265m
Project ID: 12930805
Location: Hertfordshire
Start date: October 2026
Client: Thames Water Utilities
Contractor: Kier Construction
£250m Haweswater Aqueduct – Bowland Section
The Haweswater Aqueduct Bowland Section is part of the larger Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme, or HARP. To view the overall development of the aqueduct, search Project ID 12515350.
The HARP project plans to replace six tunnel sections along the pipeline route from the Lake District through Lancashire and Greater Manchester. The Haweswater Aqueduct Bowland Section project will comprise of 16.9km of replacement pipeline.
Value: £250m
Project ID: 12585964
Location: Lancashire
Start date: Q4 2026
Client: United Utilities
Contractor: Cascade Infrastructure
£35m Naburn Wastewater Treatment Works – Phosphorus Removal
The Naburn Wastewater Treatment Works scheme is set to remove phosphorous and include implementation of ferric dosing, polymer dosing, and magnetite dosing technologies.
The overall result from the project would ensure that the wastewater that is eventually returned to rivers is free of all phosphorus, which is harmful to natural waters. The project is a part of 85 overall schemes Yorkshire Water is set to remove phosphorus from wastewater over the next five years.
Value: £35m
Project ID: 12932208
Location: North Yorkshire
Start date: August 2026 (currently on-site)
Client: Yorkshire Water Services Limited
Contractor: Mott Macdonald Bentley
£25m Chichester Wastewater Treatment Works Upgrades
The Chichester Wastewater Treatment Works is set to upgrade the existing wastewater works to increase capacity by 57%. According to the Southern Water website, the goal is to improve the ability to handle flows during periods of heavy rainfall to reduce the risk of storm overflows thus improving health to the Chichester Harbour.
Value: £25m
Project ID: 12932312
Location: West Sussex
Start date: August 2026
Client: Southern Water Services
Contractor: Galliford Try Construction
£18m Anglian Water Storm Overflow Storage
The Anglian Water Storm Overflow Storage in Walton-on-the-Naze is set to see the construction of a new 5,000m3 storm tank and associated tunnel works.
Value: £18m
Project ID: 12930352
Location: Essex
Start Date: August 2026
Client: Anglian Water
Contractor: Barhole Limited
Accessing AMP8 water infrastructure project information
To gain access to full timing information, links to planning applications and designs, direct roles associated with the projects, contact information, and materials specified on any of these water infrastructure projects, please login to the Construction Project Leads Platform.
Projects apart of the AMP8 framework can be found within the advanced filter search, or with our AI-powered search function. Alternatively, you could search for companies associated with AMP8.
If you do not have an account with Barbour ABI, please get in touch to get 10 free construction project leads. We’ll get in touch to give you these leads, whether they’re apart of AMP8 or any other projects you’d like to see.
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