Water main breaks cancel activities at Barrington High School

Three simultaneous water main breaks that disrupted some after-school activities and shut down bathrooms at Barrington High School were expected to be repaired by late Tuesday night.

The breaks all occurred on Hart Road, immediately west of the high school.

Because public works crews were working on two of the breaks during the afternoon and early evening, the third and final break was likely not to be repaired until the late evening, Barrington Village Manager Jeff Lawler said. But everything was expected to be back to normal by Wednesday morning, he added.

It was unclear Tuesday what caused the main breaks, Lawler said.

During the early part of the repairs, the water was shut off to an office building on Hart Road.

The breaks disabled the restrooms at Barrington High School, but occurred just as classes were ending for the day, Barrington Unit District 220 spokesman Jeff Arnett said.

Students were dismissed at the usual time, but all after-school activities inside the building — including a Barrington High School Idol competition — were canceled. The competition will be rescheduled later in the week, Arnett said.

Contrary to rumors, school is not canceled Wednesday, the district announced later Tuesday on its Facebook page and via Twitter.

Tuesday’s soccer games and varsity football practices outside went on as scheduled using portable outdoor restroom facilities, Arnett said.

The water main breaks occurred far from the area along Main Street where a stretch of water main dating from the late 19th century will be replaced this fall, Lawler said.