New water main in Bradford to boost drought resilience

Yorkshire Water has begun the installation of a new water main between Thornton Moor and Haworth as part of its drought resilience planning.  

The £4.5m investment will see contract partner M Group installing over 6.1km of clean water pipework, connecting the Keighley area to an additional water source to reduce the risk of supply interruption during drought conditions.  

The new main will connect to an existing service reservoir at Thornton Moor, which stores clean drinking water. 

Jason Farrar, project manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “We know that droughts are becoming increasingly common in the UK, and we’re constantly looking at when and where we need to build more resilience into our water network. This is an important scheme for the area, alleviating some of the pressure felt in instances of drought when water resources might be running lower than usual.” 

The first part of the project will see the new main laid on Keighley Road, Denholme Road, and Black Moor Road in Oxenhope, Bradford. 

The work is expected to be completed in autumn 2026. Residents have been informed about localised disruption. 

Installation of the main follows previous investments in the Worth Valley area to boost resilience in the clean water system – including network reconfiguration and the reduction of leakage by 70%, now at a historical low.  

A £1.5m scheme is also underway at Ponden Water Pumping Station, which pumps raw water from Ponden reservoir to Oldfield Water Treatment Works, to improve resilience by enabling the site to take more water for treatment.  

Yorkshire Water is continuing to bolster its clean water network elsewhere, with test boreholes currently being drilled at East Ness in North Yorkshire, and Brayton Barff in East Yorkshire.  

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.  If successful, these boreholes will help secure a sustainable water supply to meet Yorkshire’s growing customer demand and changing climate. 

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.