Like runners in a relay, water and wastewater utilities across England and Wales are hot off the starting block on a $30-billion, five-year construction sprint. This is the fourth round of environmental infrastructure upgrades since utilities were privatized in 1989, but it will now be a showcase for new procurement and  management strategies to reduce burdens on capital budgets—and on ratepayers.

Utilities must cope with new regulatory imperatives, aging facilities and changes in capacity demand. The current five-year program, known as Asset Management Plan 4 (AMP4), has a big mission through 2010. It specifies 1,000 projects to upgrade effluent quality at wastewater treatment plants, 2,000 to cope with intermittent waste spills and nearly 230 to upgrade water treatment and pumping. The program’s total pricetag will add about $1,300 in costs per household, according to the U.K. regulating agency, the Office of Water Services (OFWAT).