Northumbrian Water has completed the first phase of its Project Pipeline: County Durham and Tees Valley, a £92. 5m scheme aimed at strengthening water resilience across the North East. The milestone was reached after phase one delivered a new pipeline link between Lartington Water Treatment Works and storage sites at Whorley, near Gainford, and Shildon. The project is designed to protect drinking water quality, cut long-term operating costs, and reduce the need for energy-intensive pumping.
Phase One Delivers Key Section of northumbrian water Scheme
The completed phase covers a 33km route and forms part of a wider 57km pipeline network that will connect water treatment facilities in Upper Teesdale to communities across south County Durham and the Tees Valley. The work was delivered by contractor Farrans Construction and included 15 road crossings, with tunnelling used beneath major routes such as the A68 to limit disruption.
Specialist work was also carried out beneath the River Tees, where twin pipelines were installed through tunnels connecting shafts on either side. The approach was designed to keep the impact on the surrounding environment and wildlife as low as possible while the infrastructure was built.
Restoration And Environmental Work Now Move Forward
With construction now complete, attention is shifting to restoring the land used during the works in cooperation with local landowners. Northumbrian Water says that restoration will be handled carefully, with the aim of returning the areas to their original condition, or better.
The scheme also includes a 31-year environmental programme near Shildon that will improve 15 hectares of previously low-quality grassland. The long-term work is intended to create better habitats and support increased biodiversity alongside the water infrastructure upgrades.
What Northumbrian Water Says Comes Next
James Dawes, project manager at Northumbrian Water, called the first phase a major achievement. He said many of the replaced pipes were more than a century old and stressed that the project is intended to improve reliability while reducing carbon emissions. He also said moving infrastructure away from built-up areas should lower the risk of disruption from future pipe bursts.
The next stage of northumbrian water work will focus on the wider build-out of the pipeline network and the continuing restoration effort. For communities across south County Durham and the Tees Valley, the project now moves from construction into the longer phase of environmental repair and completion, with northumbrian water positioning the scheme as both a resilience upgrade and a lower-carbon investment.
