East Surrey water bosses are celebrating winning a prestigious regional award for a local £14 million scheme.

Redhill-based Sutton and East Surrey Water has been presented with the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Engineering Excellence Community Benefit Award for the building of the 10.5-mile long strategic water main between Outwood reservoir and Buckland pumping station.

The main was constructed over a year to increase the water distribution network's resilience and to secure future water supplies for generations to come.

The £14 million scheme involved laying an 800mm (32in) diameter pipeline along a route that went under two railway lines, three A-roads, an oil pipeline serving Gatwick Airport, and across several rural watercourses and roads.

Kevin Shilling, projects manager for Sutton and East Surrey Water, said the award was “a tremendous professional honour.”

Speaking after the ICE South East region awards dinner at Henley-on-Thames , he said: “This is a tremendous professional honour for the project team, as we have been judged by our industry peer-group.”

He said: “This was the most diverse and challenging civil engineering project Sutton and East Surrey Water has undertaken in its 150-year history. “It is an achievement that everyone involved can justifiably feel personally very proud of.”

Site project manager, Fiona Martin, highlighted the company’s successful working relationships with project partners Clancy Docwra, CH2M Hill, Aecom and Dalcour Maclaren, and with local authorities and stakeholders. The view was echoed by the ICE judges who said they were “particularly impressed by the over-all attention to detail by the project team.”

ICE Thames Valley branch chairman, Andrew Richards, also praised Sutton and East Surrey Water for its “considerable engagement with the public to both minimise and explain the inevitable disruption that occurred during the construction process.”

Innovative construction techniques enabled the project to be safely carried out with minimal impact to the general public. The project also re-used excavated materials to minimise road traffic movements and provide an over-all sustainable solution.

Twenty-nine schemes were shortlisted for the ICE’s Engineering Excellence South East England awards.