A £40 MILLION pipeline has never carried a drop of water since it was built in North Yorkshire more than seven years ago.

The pipeline was intended by Yorkshire Water as a drought-busting measure during the water shortages of the 1990s.

Water was to be pumped from the River Tees into the Wiske, near Northallerton. From where it would flow downstream into the Ouse. Extra water could then be piped from the Ouse, at Moor Monkton, near York, to Elvington water treatment works, from where it could be used to supply West Yorkshire.

But environmentalists were concerned about the impact on the Ouse ecosystem if different water types and species, such as the American crayfish, were introduced from the Tees.

As the drought eased, Yorkshire Water put the use of the pipe on hold and ordered one of the most comprehensive environmental assessments ever carried out in the UK. It looked at three options, ranging from discharging water straight into the Wiske and abstracting water from Moor Monkton, to extending the pipeline all the way to Moor Monkton.

It said today that the study had shown there were potential environmental benefits and drawbacks to all the options. "Mitigating measures would have to be considered and additional surveys will therefore be necessary before any of the options could be implemented," said a spokesman.

"Yorkshire Water is confident, however, that it won't be necessary to pursue any of the options in the foreseeable future."

He said huge steps had been taken to ensure the company could cope with another drought, including extensive measures to cut leakages from pipes. Despite this, the Tees-Wiske pipeline remained available as an extra safeguard in the event of another prolonged drought.

Pete Bowler, of the water watchdog organisation Water Watch, said the pipeline had been built in "desperate times" for the company, when it was concerned that the drought would worsen further.

He was still concerned about the impact if Tees water was introduced to the Wiske and believed a pipeline to Moor Monkton could be the option with least environmental impact.

Guy Wallbanks, York spokesman for Friends of the Earth, said he would like to see alternative ways of investing money rather than new pipelines, such as water efficiency measures.

Updated: 10:54 Thursday, September 25, 2003