Yorkshire Water to start borehole testing in East Ness

Yorkshire Water will begin drilling new test boreholes at East Ness water treatment site in North Yorkshire this week to increase the water available for supply to customers in the area, as part of its long-term water resource management plan.  

Boreholes are used to extract water from deep underground, where it is naturally filtered through soil and rock, requiring minimal treatment before it is safe to use.   

East Ness is one of a number of prospective boreholes aimed at securing a sustainable water supply to meet Yorkshire’s growing customer demand, particularly pertinent during the drought and subsequent temporary usage ban in the region.  

Andy Shaw, head of water production at Yorkshire Water, said: “We’re always looking at our available clean water supply and what we need to do to meet future demand. Boreholes are a vital part of our strategy for maintaining supply in the long-term – and will help to build resilience into our network so that we can reduce the likelihood of water shortages going forward.” 

Bringing the boreholes, which are being drilled by Marriott, into supply would provide an additional 5ML/d (five million litres per day), or the equivalent of two Olympic swimming pools every day. 

The boreholes are expected to come into supply in 2028 and will service parts of the North York Moors covered by YO17, YO60, YO61 and YO62 postcodes.  

Contract partners for the £14m scheme, Mott MacDonald Bentley, will also be installing a 12km pipeline that connects the treatment plant to Yearsley Service Reservoir, which will store clean, treated water, before it is supplied to local customers and businesses. 

To allow the scheme to be carried out, there will be a road closure just past Salton Lane in East Ness, after the junction where this road meets Railway Street, from 6 October for an estimated period of one week. There will be a temporary diversion in place.  
 
Andy added: “We understand that road closure can be frustrating, and we’ll be doing our best to keep disruption to a minimum during this incredibly important project and would like to thank everyone in the area in advance for their patience and understanding.” 

This work is part of Yorkshire Water’s water resources management plan to help ensure there is sufficient water to meet Yorkshire’s customer demands in the future.   

The project is part of a £34m investment over the next five years to introduce new water resources and bring and additional 21 Ml/d (21 million litres per day) into service. As part of this, work recently started to test the viability of new boreholes at Brayton Barff in East Yorkshire.