Northumbrian Water has invested £13m in upgrades to its sewer network in County Durham, which will help to protect the environment.
The upgrades, which have been made to the water company’s sites and network in the Sherburn and Pittington area, will help to improve the water quality in the Coalford and Sherburn Becks, as well as watercourses downstream.
Sherburn Sewage Treatment Works (STW) underwent major enhancement work, which, along with the construction of a new 3.5km pipeline and a pumping station at Pittington, will improve the performance of, and add flexibility to the network.
The new pumping station allows for Pittington STW to be taken out of use, with wastewater being transferred to the upgraded Sherburn site for treatment. The old Pittington STW has now been demolished.
The work, which started in 2022, has been carried out by Northumbrian Water’s partner, Mott MacDonald Bentley (MMB).
Dean Thompson, Project Manager at Northumbrian Water, said: “This has been a large scale job, covering two operational sites and the land where we constructed the new pipeline, but it has been successfully completed, ready to support the local community and environment.
“The replacement of Pittington Sewage Treatment Works with a pumping station not only reduces our physical presence there, it also means that operational traffic will reduce on the local roads.
“We would like to thank the local community for their patience and understanding while we have been working in the area, it is greatly appreciated.”