Holy Islands Mains Water Supply Project

Holy Island (also known as Lindisfarne) lies off the North East coast of Northumberland and is separated from the mainland by a 5km causeway. It is cut off twice a day by the tides isolating the islanders from the mainland. Holy Island will be best known as the home of the Venerable Bede who wrote the first English history in the early 8th Century and established Christianity in the ancient Kingdom of Northumbria. 

Up to the Spring of 1994 the residents obtained their water from a well on the island which had until recent years provided an adequate and wholesome supply. However, North East Water were aware that the long-term security of supply was in question due to the increasing demands from tourism. North East Water therefore had only one practical answer to this problem - link Holy Island into the mainland distribution system. 

This paper covers the reasoning behind the choice of material and also describes the novel engineering solution employed to install and provide a secure water supply from the mainland to the island.