Northumbrian Water has awarded a £46 million contract for a major upgrade of its Horsley Water Treatment Works in the Tyne Valley.
Photo: existing Horsley WWT
The water company has appointed a joint venture between Interserve Construction Ltd and Doosan Enpure Ltd as the design and construct contractor to carry out the upgrade.
The 30-month project will see Interserve and process engineering firm Doosan Enpure build new treatment facilities alongside the current plant, which will continue to operate until the new project is complete. The site supplies up to 150 million litres of water a day to 800,000 customers on Tyneside.
Sean Brown, Doosan-Interserve’s project manager for the scheme, said:
“Both Interserve and Doosan Enpure have an established track record of delivering major utilities projects and we’re excited to be working together on this project for Northumbrian Water which will give the residents of Tyneside a world-class facility that will be used for years to come. Where possible, we will use local resources, while supporting the local economy and employment in the region.”
Photo: upgraded Horsley WWT
The aim is to increase the treatment capacity of Horsley WTW in order to ensure that the output meets the following NWL Strategic Network requirements:
- Flows up to 106 Ml/d, taking into account individual process units being out of service for maintenance or refurbishment in line with outage management processes;
- Flows between 106 — 150 Ml/d, with all process units in operation.
- A new process stream will be required, replacing the existing stream which is now beyond its asset life and which will be demolished on commissioning of the new stream.
The upgrade of the Horsley water treatment works, which was built in the 1970s and is nearing the end of its design life, will begin later this month.
Untreated water for the Horsley works comes from the River Tyne at Ovingham and the Whittle Dene complex of reservoirs. The treated water supply from Horsley, which also serves the village of Horsley, together with additional water from the treatment works at Whittle Dene supplies the drinking water for Tyneside.
The JV was one of two organisations who bid for the work .
Noel Cooper, Northumbrian Water's head of water supply, said the work would ensure that the Horsley water treatment works continues to meet ever increasing water quality standards and also improve the site's resilience.
Click here to see an animated build of Horsley Water Treatment Works on the Waterbriefing Watch channel.
UK water companies are invited to join an upcoming webinar which will explore how the sector can take indirect potable reuse (IPR) from concept to full-scale operational reality.
James Sumsion, CEO of predictive water intelligence specialists Kohtari, says the water sector needs to take a giant leap forward, so that it can anticipate and act upon water quality issues - rather than merely react.
Ray Moulds, Sales Director at Flood Control International, takes a look at how automated sliding floodgates are supporting secondary containment at water and sewerage company sites.
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.