£13 million project to reduce water pipe bursts in Leeds

leak detection business A £13million project which aims to drastically reduce the number of bursts on water pipes in Leeds and further improve the reliability of customers' water supplies is now under way.

The work, which is being carried out by contractors Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions will see more than 100kms of underground cast iron water pipes, some of which are more than 100 years old, replaced with brand new plastic versions.

Where we're working

Pipe replacement work is taking place in Hunslet, Armley, Beeston, Headingley, Burmantofts, Richmond Hill, Osmondthorpe, Wortley, Potternewton and Gipton.

By the end of the project, we will have replaced more than 100kms of underground pipe, reducing the average age of Leeds's water supply system to 30 years old - it currently stands at around 85 years old. The work will predominantly focus on some of the smallest and oldest mains in Leeds as these are the ones that typically have the most bursts on them and therefore have the most impact on customer supply.

Reducing bursts in Leeds

The work will provide a huge boost to the robustness of the underground network and will significantly reduce the number of bursts occurring in Leeds in areas such as Armley where 73 bursts have been reported in the last five years, and Beeston where 66 have been recorded.

This project highlights our commitment to reducing bursts and leakage in Leeds where we know we have some of the oldest pipes in the region, and improving the reliability of water supplies to our customers in the area. Of course, we recognise that any work on such a major level is always likely to cause some disruption to road users and local residents, and we want to reassure them that we'll be doing everything possible to minimise any inconvenience to them and carry out the work as swiftly as possible.

Laura Harrison, community engagement team

Ongoing investment in leakage

The £13 million project is part of the company's ongoing £39 million investment to improve the resilience of its 32,000km network of water pipes in order to reduce bursts and ensure it's pipes are more robust to deal with temperature extremes.

Not only are we lowering the average age of the water pipe network in key areas such as Leeds, but we're also installing technology along our underground network which sends frequent information to the control centre detailing what is happening inside the pipes, rapidly alerting us to any changes in pressure that might result from a burst. We've also increased the number of people out searching for and repairing bursts on our pipes and speeding up the process through the introduction of GPS technology.

We've also pledged to continue to work closely with local residents to ensure there is an effective and open dialogue around the scheme and its progress, with a public exhibition of plans for the work being held at the White Rose Shopping Centre.

At no stage will it need access to customers' properties with the message reiterated for local residents to be on their guard for bogus callers .