£13m pipeline to protect Herrington Burn and River Wear as Sunderland environmental upgrades begin

A £13 million pipeline is being built between County Durham and Sunderland as part of a wider programme aimed at improving water quality and reducing pressure on local waterways.

Northumbrian Water has started construction of a new 3.5km pipeline running from its Sedgeletch treatment works, between Bournmoor and New Herrington, to the River Wear.

The pipeline will carry clean, treated water from the works directly to the River Wear. At present, the treated water is discharged into Herrington Burn.

Northumbrian Water says moving the discharge point will help protect the smaller burn, while the greater volume of water in the River Wear will provide increased dilution and dispersion as the treated water returns to the environment.

The £13 million scheme is the first of three environmental projects planned for the area.

Further work will include upgrades to treatment processes at Sedgeletch sewage treatment works to reduce phosphorus levels in the final treated water, as well as measures aimed at reducing spills from four storm overflows in the Houghton-le-Spring and Shiney Row area.

Construction of the pipeline began in August and is expected to continue until March 2027.

The route will pass through Elba Park and along the former railway track between Biddick Woods and the A182, before crossing both the A182 and A183.

Northumbrian Water's delivery partner Avove is carrying out the work.

Christopher Bond, Project Manager at Northumbrian Water, said: “This work in the Sedgeletch area is part of a £1.7bn investment in work that will benefit the environment, being carried out across a five year period to 2030.

“Local projects like this all come together to make a big difference for our region and we know they are important to communities across the North East.

“Our project team will be doing everything we can to reduce the inevitable disruption, and we are grateful for the patience and understanding of people living and working in, as well as visiting to enjoy, these areas.

“The benefits to the environment we all enjoy will last a long time and we hope people will agree that this relatively short disruption will deliver improvements that make it worth experiencing.”

The wider programme will see Northumbrian Water invest in both water treatment and wastewater infrastructure across the area, with the Sunderland projects focused on improving local watercourses and reducing the impact of storm overflows.