Burnhope Reservoir is an impounding reservoir situated in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty—a UNESCO Global Geopark. It supplies raw water to the Wear Valley Water Treatment Works (WTW) downstream which serves 300,000 customers across Weardale, Consett, Sunderland and South Shields. Water from the reservoir also provides compensation flows to the River Wear, helping regulate its levels downstream.
Esh-Stantec was commissioned by Northumbrian Water to test the 30-inch valve at the outlet tunnel portal to prove its operability, improve discharge control of the 40-inch supply main, extend the asset life by replacing the valve and enhance reservoir safety. A key risk was that the Wear Valley WTW relied solely on raw water from the reservoir and, should the valve fail to close during testing, this would have significant consequence to the water supply of all its customers.
An innovative solution was implemented including a new 24-inch cross-connection pipeline between the scour mains. This enabled the supply main to be de-pressurized during construction to protect the workers and maintain raw water supplies. Ultimately, this solution increased future network resilience and operability at the site.
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