Northumbrian Water has appointed the contractor to help it build a new £53 million pound underground reservoir and pipework in Springwell Village, Sunderland.

The water company’ has selected civil engineering firm Mott Macdonald Bentley (MMB) as its supply partner who will help construct the reservoir.

Northumbrian Water says the proposed project will not only make the water supply to customers in Springwell Village and the surrounding areas more secure, but will also enable it to support the wider Wearside and South Tyneside areas with a more reliable and resilient water supply for many years to come. The reservoir would strengthen and future-proof the company’s existing network in the area, providing storage for around 50,000 properties in South Tyneside.

In addition the new reservoir will enable us to provide improved resilience to the water networks to the east of Springwell Village, benefiting a further 200,000 properties in South Tyneside and Wearside.

Construction on the project is expected to start in spring 2023 and complete in 2025.

Northumbrian Water’s Richard Johnston and Paul Featherstone are the project managers for the scheme.

Richard Johnston, said:

“This is a huge investment project for us which will play a vital role in ensuring a reliable supply of drinking water for our customers long into the future, and we’re pleased to have MMB on board.

“We’ll be working closely with them and we’re confident that they will help us to deliver this project to a high standard whilst minimising any disruption to the local area.

Paul Featherstone added:

“As populations continue to grow, the reservoir will further support the wider South Tyneside area with a more reliable and resilient water supply for many years to come and we’re looking forward to working with MMB to deliver it.”

The reservoir will be able to hold 43 million litres of water.

The project will also involve the construction of a five and half kilometre pipeline, stretching from the new reservoir to the east of Usworth in Washington.

Plans for the project were first unveiled back in 2019 and customers living nearby will be invited to a customer session in the coming weeks to find out more about the final proposals.