Yorkshire Water apologises after families forced to wash in swimming pool changing rooms due to water shortages

Amid the recent sweltering weather, households in Marton-cum-Grafton were without water due to burst mains as part of infrastructure work.

Yorkshire Water has apologised to residents in North Yorkshire village after their supply was cut off three times in the last month, leaving families forced to take their children to the swimming pool for showers.

Amid the recent sweltering weather, households in Marton-cum-Grafton were without water due to burst mains as part of infrastructure work.

Children were sent home from school, while a three-day outage led the pub to close.

Last week, North Yorkshire Green councillor Arnold Warneken brought Yorkshire Water representatives to the village to face questions.

Coun Warneken told Yorkshire Water representatives: “If actions from the other meetings we’ve had with Yorkshire Water about supply had been followed through, we wouldn’t need to be meeting her today.”

He raised cases where families had to take their children to swimming baths to wash, carers had to use laundrettes to wash sheets and people on benefits had to buy bottled water because they were unsure whether the tap water was safe.

One person on the priority services register had moved temporarily into AirBnB accommodation because they could not risk being without water, Coun Wakneken said.

Residents also raised serious concerns about Yorkshire Water’s customer service, including long waits on hold, promised callbacks that never came, unanswered emails and missed appointments.

They said this added to the confusion about whether the tap water was safe to use.

Coun Warneken added: “I arranged this meeting because residents deserved answers. People had spent far too long chasing Yorkshire Water, waiting for callbacks and samples, and trying to make sense of conflicting information.

“When families are taking their children to swimming baths to wash or buying bottled water because they have lost confidence in their supply, we cannot simply accept business as usual.

“Customers are paying more for their water and have every right to expect a safe, reliable and consistent supply, with customer service to match.

“That is particularly important for vulnerable residents, who need to know that support will be there when their water supply is disrupted.”

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: “We were pleased to meet with Coun Warneken and the residents of Marton-cum-Grafton and listen to their concerns.

“We understand how disruptive loss of water supply or low water pressure is and apologise for the experience they had in July. The mains renewal, when complete, will mean bursts and leaks on the network, and subsequent loss of supply, are much less likely.

“Separately, we’re working hard to fully resolve the issues that residents are continuing to have with the appearance of their water. Please be assured, water can be used and consumed as normal, and we advise running tap water until it is clear.

“Communication and customer service has not been good enough, and we’re sorry for any confusion and frustration that has been caused in regard to losing supply in July, and to water quality after this. We’re reviewing the incident internally and will ensure that we learn from this.”