COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A growing number of homes, businesses and buildings are dealing with severe water and plumbing damage following last week’s extremely cold weather.
One of the buildings, LeVeque Tower, was evacuated Tuesday after a pipe ruptured; a spokesman said Wednesday that the building has reopened. There was also a major water leak at the Ohio State Capitol on Tuesday. Latitude Five25 Apartments was also evacuated due to problems there.
When Libby Gierach, president and CEO of the Hilliard Area Chamber of Commerce, went to work this week, she saw water all over the floor in three rooms of the office. In 30 years of working in this room, she had never seen anything like it before.
“It comes from the ceiling,” Gierach said. “We could see the pipe, it had maybe a six-inch burst, and you could see the water erupting like, like, can’t stop.”
Workers at plumbing company The Waterworks answer about 1,000 calls a day.
“We have a dedicated group of employees who are always on call to serve as many customers as possible,” said David Specht, President of The Waterworks. Families and businesses, everyone is busy right now.”
Back in Hilliard, the chamber is taking steps.
“We’re going to have to buy new drywall, new ceilings, new floors, the whole nine yards,” Gierach said. “So it’s going to be an adventure.”
While the Chamber of Commerce waits for its insurers to come out and assess the damage, surrounding businesses have been offering help and support after discovering what happened, Gierach said.