A new 33km pipeline has been constructed, connecting a Teesdale water treatment works with communities across the south of County Durham.
Northumbrian Water’s Project Pipeline: County Durham and Tees Valley, is a major investment in water infrastructure – replacing old pipework, some more than 100 years old, with new large, strategic mains, protecting the resilience and quality of water supplies.
The pipeline runs from Lartington Water Treatment Works to a service reservoir at Whorley, near Gainford, and then across to a similar storage facility on the outskirts of Shildon. This £92.5m investment represents the first phase of a project that will ultimately see the pipeline connected to the Teesside network.
The route has been designed to avoid towns and along main roads, as well as to maximise the use of gravity as the driving force of the water flow, significantly reducing the reliance on pumping, saving energy and ongoing operational cost.
Work began at the start of 2023, and it is expected that water will be flowing by the end of this year, with commissioning work well underway and reinstatement of working areas being finalised in spring/summer 2026.
Project Pipeline has also seen the team working across the community in a variety of ways, led by Farrans Construction, Northumbrian Water’s project partner.
This has included:
- A competition to name the tunnel boring machine (TBM). The TBM helped create a tunnel running beneath the River Tees, to allow two pipes to pass beneath the water, connecting the pipeline without the need for a new pipe bridge.
- Work experience placements and the creation of four apprenticeships.
- Business mentoring and educational opportunities.
- Volunteering activity across the community.
- Charitable donations.
- School visits.
James Dawes, Northumbrian Water’s project manager, said: “Project Pipeline has been a visible part of Teesdale for nearly two years, not only in terms of our work to construct 33km of pipeline, but also with the work that has been done with the community.
“We’ve been grateful for the positive engagement and understanding of the community, even at times where we have needed to disrupt the local road network to lay pipes crossing highways.
“We hope that we have been able to make a positive difference through the community activities that have taken place, just as the pipeline will make a positive difference, adding resilience to the water network and protecting the quality of water supplied to our customers.
“We will need to return in the future, to carry out connection work into parts of the network within Barnard Castle, so that the benefits can be felt even more greatly on a local level, and we will engage with the community ahead of that work.”
Barry McDonagh, project manager at Farrans, said: “Since work began on Project Pipeline our team has been embedded in the community and we have been proud to work on such an important piece of infrastructure which will ensure the resilience of the water network for generations to come. We would like to thank the public for their patience during our works.
“We have delivered an impactful programme of social value activities alongside our civil engineering operations by working with the local supply chain, donating to charitable organisations, volunteering, engaging with schools and colleges and inspiring young people to consider a role in the construction industry.”
“Farrans will be continuing to work with Northumbrian Water in the future and we look forward to continuing to build on our connections with the local community.”
