Camouflaged fences are among bat-protection measures being taken by Anglian Water as it prepares to start construction of a major water pipeline.

The new pipe will stretch from the counties of Lincolnshire to Essex, bringing water from the wettest parts in the north of the UK utility's region to the driest areas in the south and east. The £400m investment will help tackle a 30 million litre per day water shortage facing the east of England, as a result of climate change and a growing population.

The pipe is being constructed in sections. Work on a planned 99km section from Grantham to Bexwell involves disturbing some established bat highways – regular routes used by bats to hunt food.

Anglian Water is taking steps to make sure the bats are protected during development. To help the tiny mammals create new food routes, dozens of bat boxes are being built in woodland to encourage them to roost away from the pipelines.

Workers will also avoid night shifts in areas where the nocturnal creatures fly and will stop work when a bat roost is found until it can be re-sited.

Special camouflaged fences have been created to keep ‘commuter routes’ open for the bats. The camouflage fences fill gaps where foliage has been removed, so the night flyers do not lose their way because landmarks have disappeared.

Last year, workers preparing a section of pipeline in Lincolnshire discovered some of the UK’s rarest bat species - barbastelles.

Andrew Weston, from the ecology team leading the initiative, said: “As well as delivering a much-needed network of new water mains – to keep fresh, clean water flowing across the region and tackle the threat of future water shortages – we’re committed to maintaining rich, diverse, environmentally-friendly landscapes in the areas we work.

“We’re placing the bat boxes in areas of woodland unlikely to be felled in the future, so that bats are able to establish roosts within the woodland.”

The 99km Grantham to Bexwell pipeline section runs from Wilsford Heath, south of Ancaster, via Peterborough, to Bexwell, near Downham Market in Norfolk – and will eventually join with planned pipelines to the north and south to help move water across the east of England to areas where it is needed most. Pipe-laying is due to start in early 2023.

The mammoth project is part of Anglian’s Water Resources Management Plan, which looks 25 years ahead to make the east of England more resilient to drought. The entire network is expected to go into service in 2025.