A GIANT new pipeline transporting water from Derbyshire to Leicestershire is to be built.

Severn Trent Water plans to lay 20 miles of pipe to improve links between Ladybower Reservoir, in Derbyshire, and Cropston Reservoir, near Leicester.

The two are already connected but the new pipeline would cut out a bottleneck near Loughborough and significantly increase water flow from the Peak District.

Climate change and housing growth will lead to water shortages unless the £30m project is completed, bosses at Severn Trent Water say.

The new link is needed because the Upper Derwent Valley, where Ladybower is situated, holds more water than is required in Derbyshire and drier parts of the region will be able to receive more water.

The exact route of the new pipeline is not yet known. But it is believed that it could follow a major trunk road – possibly the M1 motorway – between the two regions.

A spokesman for the company said the project, which would supply enough extra water for 100,000 homes, would remove the need for another reservoir.

He said: "There is a north-south divide in the availability of water in the East Midlands.

"Without the development of new resources to meet projected growth in the East Midlands, we forecast an average shortfall of around 29 million litres a day by 2015.

"The Upper Derwent Valley system stores more than enough water for the region's needs – the problems are more about distribution.

"However, there is an historical bottleneck in our infrastructure, which ties up millions of litres of water per day between Derby and Hallgates, north of Loughborough."

Severn Trent said the cost of the pipeline would not mean any increases in bills beyond the rises of one per cent, above inflation, already planned between 2010 and 2015.

It says the pipeline would take 10 years to plan, build and commission.

A spokesman said: "Of course, there will also have to be an environmental impact assessment on the plans."

Independent water conservation organisation Waterwise said companies should not be building more pipes.

Together with bodies like the National Trust and the World Wildlife Foundation, it has formed the Blueprint for Water coalition to put pressure on companies like Severn Trent.

A spokesman said: "We can't go on for ever building our way out of trouble. We need to reduce the amount of water we waste. This will secure our future water supplies at less cost to the public."