Doncaster school closed to pupils today after water cut causes chaos for thousands

Yorkshire Water has now restored supplies after a power cut at a water treatment works in Armthorpe cut water to homes, shops, pubs and restaurants for several hours yesterday.

However, McAuley Catholic High School in Cantley will stay closed today after the disruption.

In a message sent to parents, seen by the Free Press, a school spokesperson said: “We have been informed by Yorkshire Water that we have no running water to either school site.

“There is no estimated time at which the water supply will be restored and we have been advised to run a full system flush once supply resumes.

“No running water poses a significant health and safety risk and therefore school will be closed on Thursday 28 November to all pupils.

“Where possible work will be provided online. There will be learning activities for each timetabled class, accessible through Microsoft Teams. Pupils should follow their usual timetable for the day.

"Please note this may not be live lessons due to the late notice we have been given.

“As soon as we have further information, we will keep you updated. We anticipate school being open as normal on Friday 29 November.

“We are well aware of the difficulty and frustrations caused by having to close school, however the health and safety of pupils and staff is our main priority. In the current circumstances this option is in the best interest of safety.

“Thank you for your understanding and support in these difficult circumstances.”

People were unable to cook, bathe or use toilets and a number of pubs, restaurants, shops and other businesses were forced to close.

Last night, in a statement, YW said: “Yorkshire Water apologises for supply interruption to customers in the Doncaster area following a power outage at one of our key water treatment works in the Armthorpe area late this afternoon.

“We understand how inconvenient supply interruptions can be and we’d like to thank our customers for their patience whilst our teams are working to fix the issue.

"This is an ongoing situation and our engineers are working with Northern Powergrid onsite to restore power and supply to customers as quickly as possible.

"Bottled water is being mobilised and we will be providing updates on our website and social media channels."

Homes in the DN2, DN3, DN4 and DN5 areas – which covers Town Moor, Wheatley, Intake, Kirk Sandall, Edenthorpe, Clay Lane and Wheatley Hills - were all impacted – but it is understood homes and businesses all over Doncaster were hit.

Earlier, a spokesperson for Yorkshire Water said: “Unfortunately there has been a power failure at one of our key water treatment works in Doncaster late this afternoon.

"Colleagues including our high voltage electricians, the fire brigade and Northern PowerGrid are on site, with more colleagues on route.

"They are working hard to ensure the site is safe, understand the cause of the incident and carry out any necessary repairs.

“In the meantime, unfortunately, properties across DN2, DN3, DN4 and DN5 may have low pressure or no water supply.

"We are sorry to everyone impacted, we know how disruptive this will be, especially at this time of day. If the power remains off, the area impacted may extend.

"We are also in touch with Doncaster Royal Infirmary to ensure their supply is maintained.

“Unfortunately this is a complex and developing situation, therefore at this time we do not know when the power will be restored or when supplies will be back to normal.”