Northumbrian Water, WRc, HR Wallingford and Stantec together worked on the specification and design of the NLRTC, engaging with as many stakeholders as possible, particularly leakage experts in the water industry and academia, to ensure the NLRTC provides the right environment to reduce leakage. They engaged with numerous water companies through workshops and communications.
The NLRTC will consist of an offline District Metered Area (DMA)and a smaller test rig, known as a sandpit, both of which will be constructed on HR Wallingford’s business park and neighbouring fields in Oxfordshire.
The DMA will comprise a fully scaled, 5km-long, buried water pipeline, with multiple sub-metered areas, leakage simulation bunkers, and a control room enabling automated control capabilities. Stantec, a global leader in sustainable design and engineering, carried the detailed design work for the DMA, and has provided a range of interdisciplinary planning and engineering services to support the NLRTC’s planning application, led by Bidwells.
The sandpit will be set up within HR Wallingford’s existing Froude Modelling Hall. It will allow water companies and innovators to try out new technology before testing it in the offline DMA area.
Bidwells has led discussions on behalf of the partners with South Oxfordshire District Council as part of the pre-planning application process. They are aiming to submit a full planning application for the DMA in early 2026. Construction is expected to take around nine months, and initial talks with specialist contractors are underway.
