Business owners near Townend roundabout claim their trade has been decimated by roadworks which started on Monday.
One shopkeeper, who has a sandwich shop, claims he took just 85p on Tuesday.
The roadworks on Dodworth Road, put up by Yorkshire Water, are due to last six weeks and have meant the closure of the road heading towards the M1.
Drivers who would normally park and nip into shops near the Townend rounabout are now unable to stop.
Cenk Zilce opened the Bite Me sandwich shop on Dodworth Road four months ago.
"I'm trying to establish a business but I can't because of this. It's crippling me," he said.
"It's absolutely no good, 85p in one day is terrible. It's not my premises so I'm paying rent and paying for the water and electricity."
Nearby florist Dennis Beevers has also been affected.
Owner Simon Curley said: "It's been very quiet. We rely on people parking across the road, coming in and picking up flowers. This couldn't have come at a worse time with Mother's Day coming up. It's usually the best day of the year for us."
Barber Tony Batty, whose shop is on Racecommon Road, said: "It's not affected my business but I'm just concerned for the people who it has. They've blocked off the crossing too and I've seen kids walking out into the road. It's very dangerous."
Yorkshire Water say it has done its best in notifying everyone who will be affected.
They will also be cutting off the water supply to some businesses on Monday, but will be providing bottles of water to compensate for the businesses not being able to use their taps.
A spokesman said: "Our work on Dodworth Road is necessary in order to replace a pipe which has been prone to bursting. We have aimed to minimise disruption by notifying residents and businesses by letter, information in local press and visits to business premises.
"Work is progressing well and we hope to be finished earlier than the scheduled six weeks."
© 2013 Barnsley Chronicle Ltd
I feel for those businesses that are being affected by the works being carried out. I know exactly where they are coming from. I ran a business on Doncaster Road for the past 4 years and left in January 2013. Due to increased competition we could not afford to carry on. In the 4 years we were there, we had at least 8 power cuts which affected the business as we could not trade without power. From my experience I would advise anyone not to even consider investing in Barnsley. For me, Barnsley is the worst town for owning and running a business full stop. I took the risk and it was the biggest mistake of my life to date. Now I've moved on and getting out of Barnsley was like winning the lottery! No joke. The council have no clue what they are doing! The town is like a ghost town. No wonder people go elsewhere to shop eg Meadowhall, Sheffield, Doncaster, Leeds. My message is 'BUSINESS OWNERS IN BARNSLEY.... GET OUT WHILST YOU CAN.. BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!
You should be grateful they are changing and cleaning the pipes. This is the water you drink!!!! You would be complaint if it was dirty water coming through your taps!