Local Action - Warkworth

Hello Warkworth

Thank you to everyone who attended our event.

 

Working hard with partners and local people in their communities, we are restoring and regenerating our natural environment, creating an even better place to live and work through our local actions.

 

We’re investing a total of around £4.5bn across the whole business from 2025 to 2030 - subject to Ofwat’s approval.

Here are some key projects:

Our goal is to prevent pollution and sewage from entering rivers and seas across our region.

  • Storm overflows are an important part of our wastewater network because they protect customers’ homes and the environment. They operate automatically as a relief system during heavy rain, storm conditions, or if the sewers are overwhelmed because of more water or blockages and reduce the risk of flooding.
  • Our storm overflow information video can be viewed here.
  • Our digital interactive map shows up-to-date storm overflow information across the region. A video about this can be viewed here.
  • Information on our plan for Storm Overflows can be viewed on the national storm overflow interactive map.
Environmental upgrades add protection to the River Coquet.

  • We have invested £0.5m and are upgrading The Stanners to convert our sewage pumping station (SPS) to a wet well SPS, as it is subject to flooding. It’s in a flood risk area and making it a wet well will stop the pumps from failing during times of flood. This will help to protect the environment, including the river, during storms.
If you live in Warkworth, your drinking water comes from the Warkworth Water Treatment Works (WTW) on the outskirts of Warkworth. This facility treats water sourced from the River Coquet.

  • We have recently invested £3m in upgrades at Warkworth WTW. The investment includes:
    • Refurbishment of four clarifiers to remove sediment and impurities from raw water.
    • Enhancements to the connected water network to increase the site's capacity and support increased demand.
    • These upgrades aim to improve the quality and resilience of the water supply for over 15,000 properties directly and nearly 52,000 properties across the wider area.
  • Following significant investment in recent years new WTWs have been built at both Wooler and Murton feeding Wooler and Berwick respectively. Each site obtains its raw water from a series of boreholes which merge at treatment works
We’re investing c.£4.5bn in total in the region. This is the largest investment programme in the last 30 years.

  • £1.1bn of this will reduce the use of storm overflows and improve bathing water quality.
  • £8m will be spent on improving drinking water quality.
  • £7.5m extra to reduce leakage.
  • We’ll protect our network from power failures and flooding by investing £127m in adapting for climate change.
  • We will invest £50m to repair and replace the aging network of water pipes – including lead pipes.
Wet wipes are the biggest cause of blockages and sewer flooding.

  • You can make a big difference by doing one simple thing, instead of flushing it down the loo, bin the wipe.
Bluespaces are water environments accessible to customers via road, footpath, bridleway, other public rights of way, or at a country park or beach.

  • We made a pledge to improve 500km of Bluespaces for our customers by 2030. By 2025 we’ll be halfway there, after completing over 70 projects through partners, and we have big ambitions for delivering positively impactful projects where they are most needed in the second half of the programme.
  • So far, since its initiation in 2020, Bluespaces has helped deliver over 5,000 volunteer days and engaged over 700 volunteers across 40 projects. Our co-funding has helped plant nearly 8,000 new trees, created over 400 hectares of new wetland, and helped tackle eight different kinds of invasive non-native species (INNS), as well as enhancing access and recreational facilities for local communities. 
  • Please visit 'Our Scheme' for more information. 
  • We encourage our customers and local groups to let us know where and what these should be. If you have any ideas, get in touch by emailing Bluespaces@nwl.co.uk
  • We have already invested in the River Coquet catchment to improve access, biodiversity and water quality to improve 31km of Bluespaces through several projects led by various partners.
The Branch Out fund supports projects that protect local ecosystems. Enhancing and linking habitats protects local flora and fauna by building their resilience to climate change.

  • If you, or your organisation, are involved in a project doing this, then the Branch Out Fund might be able to help you! Applications for grants of anywhere between £1 - £10,000 are very welcome. The guidance notes on projects that quality for grant funding is here. 
  • Email applications to Branchout@NWL.co.uk  
Even after our planned big investments we still expect bills in the North East to be the lowest in England.

  • We know our communities are facing a cost-of-living crisis with bills going up. We are committed to helping those that need it most. If you or anyone you know is struggling to pay their bills, please talk to us.
  • There are lots of ways we can help: www.nwl.co.uk/bill-help.  
Are you passionate about caring for our local waterways and making a difference in your community? If you are then why not become a Water Ranger?

  • Water Rangers are an enthusiastic group of local volunteers who report any issues and notable wildlife they see in and around our local rivers and streams. Don’t delay, email waterrangers@nwl.co.uk to join today.
We think it’s important to give back to make a positive impact in our local communities. All our team are encouraged to volunteer to support community groups and charities through our Just an Hour scheme.

  • This initiative gets our teams out in the communities we serve, supporting great causes. People choose causes that resonate with them personally - for at least 15 hours a year.
  • Want to know more? Please see 'Just an hour'.

Find out more

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