Northumbrian Water is partnering in a £3.8 million project to reduce flood risk in a County Durham village. The work in South Moor, Stanley, will be carried out by Northumbrian Water, in partnership with Durham County Council and the Environment Agency (EA), as part of the Northumbria Integrated Drainage Partnership (NIDP).

The NIDP sees organisations working together to identify and deliver ways of reducing flood risk for communities, going beyond what they would be able to do if working alone.

£3.8 million is being invested in the work in the Park Road area of South Moor, installing more than 1,800 metres of new surface water sewers. Currently the area has a combined sewer system, which takes both sewage from homes and businesses, as well as surface water – or rainwater – and the new pipework will allow that to be separated, reducing the chances of heavy rainfall overloading the system.

As well as reducing the risk of flooding, the work will contribute to the risk of storm overflow discharges in the area.

David Groark, Northumbrian Water’s Project Manager, said:

“The Northumbria Integrated Drainage Partnership is a unique initiative that really allows us to deliver more than we could alone. Working with local authorities and the Environment Agency, we can make investments that cross the boundaries of our traditional responsibilities, making a bigger impact for communities.

“This work in South Moor, with Durham County Council and the Environment Agency, means we can tackle flood risk by taking the ebbs and flows of surface water, caused by increasingly heavy rainfall events, and put it into new pipes. By removing it from the existing pipework, which also carries sewage from homes and businesses, we can reduce both flood risk and the frequency of storm overflow spills, which is a double win.”

The NIDP project, which will be delivered by Esh-Stantec, is set to start next week and will take up to 18 months to complete.

Northumbrian Water is separately currently in the planning stages of a second project in the South Moor area, which will specifically target storm overflow spill reductions and is expected to begin in 2026.

David Groark, Northumbrian Water’s Project Manager, said:

“The Northumbria Integrated Drainage Partnership is a unique initiative that really allows us to deliver more than we could alone. Working with local authorities and the Environment Agency, we can make investments that cross the boundaries of our traditional responsibilities, making a bigger impact for communities.

“This work in South Moor, with Durham County Council and the Environment Agency, means we can tackle flood risk by taking the ebbs and flows of surface water, caused by increasingly heavy rainfall events, and put it into new pipes. By removing it from the existing pipework, which also carries sewage from homes and businesses, we can reduce both flood risk and the frequency of storm overflow spills, which is a double win.”