Clogged sink at Columbus Government Center causes flooding, damage — again
An overflowing sink on the 10th floor of the Columbus Government Center tower sent water rushing through lower floors on the building’s west side Wednesday night, authorities said.
The water damaged rooms from the ninth floor down to at least the sixth, said Judge Gil McBride, the chief judge of the six-county Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit that’s based in Columbus.
The water damage caused ceiling tiles to collapse and soaked manuals, files and other material, he said..
McBride and City Manager Isaiah Hugley toured some of the offices affected on Thursday morning.
“It’s not going to shut down any offices.... It’s not going to hinder any work flow,” Hugley said. Many Government Center employees already are working from home during the COVID-19 emergency, he said.
McBride said that though most court proceedings have been suspended during the emergency, other court operations continue: “We’re still here working.”
Among the areas damaged were the State Court Solicitor’s office on the ninth floor, the marshal’s conference room on the eighth floor, Superior Court Judge Arthur Smith III’s jury room on the seventh floor, and Probate Judge Marc D’Antonio’s offices on the sixth floor, McBride said.
Hugley rated the damage as “mild,” rendering only the marshal’s conference room unusable. That and the solicitor’s office were the areas hardest hit, he said. Below the sixth floor, the damage was negligible, he said.
He said someone apparently left a sink running on the 10th floor, and its drain clogged, causing the overflow.
McBride said the flooding was discovered around 10 p.m. Wednesday, but apparently had gone unabated for several hours. The restroom with the clogged sink was not one open to the public, he said.
Probate Judge Marc D’Antonio said it was the second time his office area flooded in 18 months. “Stuff like this, you really can’t believe this,” he said Thursday.
The building has had repeated incidents of flooding since a major water main broke on June 18, 2018, rendering the top floor courtrooms unusable.