Watlington Waterworks is about to take its water pipeline west beyond Somerset Bridge — at least once it overcomes an unexpected delay it encountered this week.The company, which provides water gathered from the freshwater lens in the Devonshire marshes and also through its seawater desalination plant, has been working for the past two years to extend its network from Southampton to Somerset.The installation will provide thousands of Westenders with water supply backup for times when their tanks are running low and relieve some of the pressure on supplies in the area when cruise ships are in at Dockyard.Having followed Middle Road to Somerset Bridge, contractors reached a point where they had to take the pipe below the seabed.As Watlington’s CEO Allan Rance described, they discovered on investigation by a diver that the base of the dock at the Somerset Bridge Post Office had suffered significant erosion.Watlington Waterworks now intends to bolster the base of the dock with concrete and also encase the pipe inside another larger pipe, to run in a concrete-reinforced trench to make the undersea crossing as secure as possible.The extra measures will delay the project, but Mr Rance said the it was on target to cross the bridge and be well on its way to Somerset Village next year.“The piping is made from a polyethylene material and we expect it to have a 100-year life,” Mr Rance said.“Utilities have to have a very long-term view.”Eventually, the plan is for the pipeline to follow the main road to Somerset Village.Following this, pipe will be laid down East Shore Road and Soundview Road, looping back to Somerset Road.Many homes and businesses located away from the main roads will also get access to the water supply, as offshoots from the main pipeline will follow side roads, he said.The project is happening as a result of a Memorandum of Understanding agreed between the company and Government in 2010.That memorandum allows for Watlington’s infrastructure to eventually be hooked up with the Government’s water infrastructure in the West End, built around a main pipeline running down the Railway Trail.The link-up will eventually involve the acquisition of the Government infrastructure by Watlington, though Mr Rance said the finer details of that had still to be determined.It is intended that within five years the company will be the sole provider of water to the Somerset area, which will result in a significant increasing of the scale of the company’s overall operations.Government water operations will focus on eastern parts, where the majority of its infrastructure is located, Mr Rance said.