Yorkshire Water shell out to Rotherham customers after power drought
Residents affected by last weekend's water outage across parts of Rotherham are set to receive compensation from Yorkshire Water.
Households who were "significantly impacted" by the disruption will receive a payment automatically, the company states, with money expected to arrive within 20 working days.
Thousands of homes across areas including Aughton, Dinnington, Thurcroft, Anston, Wickersley and Kiveton Park were left with no water or low pressure after a power failure knocked out pumps at the Aughton station late on Saturday evening.
Supplies were gradually restored on Sunday morning after engineers worked overnight to resolve the issue.
According to Yorkshire Water, customers do not need to apply for compensation as payments will be processed automatically depending on how they pay their bill.
The company said in an incident update that it would “provide compensation payment to all customers significantly impacted by the issue” and that affected households would receive direct communication shortly.
Rother Valley MP Jake Richards raised the issue with Yorkshire Water chief executive Nicola Shaw following widespread disruption across the constituency.
He said around 50,000 people had been affected and that many were frustrated by the sudden loss of supply and long queues for bottled water.
Former Rother Valley MP Alexander Stafford also insisted households should be recompensed.
Under industry rules known as the Guaranteed Standards Scheme, customers may receive compensation if their water supply is not restored within a specified period after an outage.
The disruption began when a Northern Powergrid issue caused a power failure at the pumping station supplying parts of south Rotherham and neighbouring areas.
Yorkshire Water engineers worked overnight to restore operations while bottled water distribution points and tankers were deployed to support the network while supplies stabilised.
Locals said long queues developed for the bottled water, and discolouration of tap supplies continued after the service resumed.
A Yorkshire Water spokesperson apologised to customers affected by the incident, adding that the company understood the inconvenience caused and would review its response to the outage.
Major supply interruptions are relatively uncommon but have occurred in South Yorkshire before. In 2022, for example, a burst Yorkshire Water main in the Stannington area of Sheffield caused around 200,000 litres of water to flood into the local gas network, leaving more than 3,000 homes without gas or hot water while repairs were carried out.